
Class 
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UNITED STATES -<K^ 

Senatorial Question. 



SPEECHES M 

i ■ Hmm •■ 
DELIVERED IN THE 

ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF NEW-YORK, 

BT THE HONORABLES 



Messes. C. C. LEIGH, 

C. P. JOHNSON, 
J. W. STEBBINS, 

D. C. LITTLEJOHN, 
A. W. HULL, 
S. B. COLE, 
W. GLEASON, fM '/ E. FITCH 



Messes. M. L. RICKERSON, 
L. S. MAY, 
H BAKER, 
R. M. BLATCHFORD, 
P. H MAGUIRE, 
S. SMITH. 



AND OTHEM, «N EXPOSITION OF THE 



OATHS, OBLIGATIONS .AND RITUALS 



OF THE 



Know-Nothings, 

DURING THE DEBATE ON THE UNITED STATES SENATORIAL QUESTION, 

February 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, 1855. 



ALBANY: 

WEED, PARSONS & COMPANY, PRINTERS. 

1855. 



:. * \ 



C b 5Jk* 






Mm 

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UNITED STATES 

SENATORIAL QUESTION. 

SPEECHES 



DELIVERED IN THE 



ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF NEW-YORK. 



SPEECH OF MR. C C. LEIGH. 



THURSDAY, Feb. 1, 1855. 

The House, by unanimous consent, took up the 
following resolution, introduced by Mr. Petty : 

Resolved, That in Ihe now distracted state of parties, it 
is the duty of this legislature to cast off the bonds of party 
leaders and vote only for such men for the office of United 
States Senator as have shown themselves, by their acts, 
speeches and votes, that they are true to the interests of the 
state, to the public schools and the whole country. 

Mr. LEIGH said— Mr. Speaker: On the 6th 
day of February, this legislature will be called 
upon to perform an important duty enjoined upon 
us by the constitution, that of electing a United 
States Senator — an office, next to the Presmeui. 
of the United States, the most honorable and im- 
ponant of any within the gift of a free people, if 
not the most dignified position of any political 
elective office in the civilized world. 

From my boyhood, the name of an American 
Senator has at once carried me back in imagina- 
tion to Rome, her seven hills, her Senate Chamber 
and her Senators — to her Cicero, Brutus, CjEsar 
and the Scinos; to their eloquence and their 
edicts that made thrones and kingdoms shake, 
and brought to their feet the haughty kings and 
princes of every nation in the known world, 

It is true that the American Senate is not gov- 
erned by those principles, or rather want of prin- 
ciples, that influenced the Roman. Theirs was 
sanguinary : ours mild ; theirs were for war and 
blood : ours for peace and commerce ; theirs a 
mission that awed into fear and subjection the 
nations of the earth: ours of protection and good 
will to man. 

They were backed and encouraged by the spirit 
of the age — a heathenism, with just enough re- 
finement to give solidity, concentration and 
energy to a power that overturned governments, 
slew millions, and turned God's beautiful earth 
into fields of desolation and blood There follow- 
ed in their train broken hearts, ruined fortunes 
and ravished females. They sacked cities, de- 



stroyed their inhabitants; in short, they were 
the greatest architects of ruin the world had ever 
seen. 

But our senators, within the limits the constitu- 
tion has thrown around them, have the same, yes, 
an increase of power over the Romans. It is also 
backed by the spirit of our age; an age that is 
struggling fearfully with the heathenism and bar- 
barism of the past, that still lingers like the last 
columns of a retreating foe, or the last wild beast 
that is forced unwillingly from his lair and den 
to seek a refuge in the gloom and density of the 
unlimited forest, from the encroachments of civi- 
lization ; an age that is illumined with the glo- 
rious light of Christianity; that seeks for the 
freedom, social distinction, education and happi- 
ness of our race, 

In this august and venerable body, the Senate 
of the United States, the Empire State of New- 
York, with her three millions inhabitants, is 
entitled to send but two representatives; and 
the suffrages of these three millions is, by the 
constitution of our state, entrusted to this legis- 
lature, in the election of United States Senator. 

Sir, it is my duty to look around among the 
statesmen of New-York, and inquire which among 
them is a man, and, when I say a man, I speak 
of a character the highest and most sublime 
within the range of human vision. It is said of 
a philosopher of old, whilst contemplating this 
biiih character, his ideal of human perfections 
were such, and his anxiety to see the noble 
being so great, that, lighting his brilliant torch 
at mid-day, he ran out in the market place 
searching for a man, inquiring of all he met, 
" Can you show me a man V And though he 
was in the most enlightened city of Greece, and 
had the light of the sun aud the philosopher's 
torch, he gave up the search, returning to his 
study, saying, "Alas-! alas! I cannot find a 

MAN."" 

If there is a position in the gift of a free peo- 
ple that should be filled, not with a mere parti- 



zan — a wire-puller— an intriguer—but by a man, it 
is the honorable office of United States Senator. 

I believe, sir, the great State of New- York is 
more fortunate than ancient Greece. We have 
many men among us, in intellectual, moral and 
humane qualities — in love of country and their 
race — in all the noble attributes that make up the 
perfection of humanity. 

Sir, let us look around us and among these men, 
to find one that can truly represent, not a party 
or faction, but the great State of New-York. 

The senator we choose will hold his seat for 
six years, unless it is vacated by death or resig- 
nation. In that time, what important questions 
may come before that body, no one living can 
foresee. The questions of peace and war, fo- 
reign and domestic; of liberty or' slavery ; of 
the dissolution or perpetuity of the Union ; of 
opening anew that horrid traffic, the foreign slave 
trade, and a thousand other questions of vital im- 
portance) to our own state. The whole country and 
the world may come before them ; and the gen- 
tleman we elect will be entrusted with the tre- 
mendous responsibility of holding at his disposal, 
in the Senate Chamber, the suffrages of one-half 
the State of New-York. 

Sir, I tremble at the responsibility my con- 
stituents have entrusted to me ; but I shall dis- 
charge each duty with a solemn conviction that 
to a higher tribunal than man 1 must give an ac- 
count, and, in accordance with my oath of office, 
perform each duty to the best of my ability and 
judgment. 

I hope I shall not be charged with egotism in 
alluding to myself, so far only as to show my 
freedom to act on this question according to my 
own judgment. 

My situation in this House is such that I am at 
liberty to follow, untrammeled, my own judg- 
ment. I was nominated and elected by the 
friends »f temperance in my district, having in 
opposition to me a Whig pledged, if elected, to 
vote for Wm. H. Seward. On the other hand, 
I had an opponent known as a Kuow Nothing, 
pledged, if elected, to vote against him. The 
Democrats ran two candidates. And thus the 
politicans have left me to follow out my own 
convictions of duty — none to call me to an ac- 
count, and none to say, why doest thou thus? 

In one sense I stand in an unenviable position: 
no party to lean upon, with a host of personal 
friends, but with few political ones to confide in. 
But in an important sense, I occupy a proud posi- 
tion — that of independence of party leaders and 
party dictation. Indeed, such is my constitution 
that I could stand nowhere else. I would des- 
pise myself, if I had to purchase office or place 
at the expense of my independence. No one 
entertains a higher opinion of the people, or is 
more anxious of carrying out their wishes, or 
more desirous of their good opinion, than my- 
self ; but if they entrust me to legislate for them. 
I must be left to my own untrammeled judgment. 
Indeed, it is my conviction that I shall be carry- 
ing out their wishes best by open candor and 
honest independence. 

In casting my vote for United States Senator, 
I shall not ask to which of the various political 
parties he belongs, but confine myself to the 
more important questions — First, Is he honest ? 
Second, Is he capable? Third Will he be faithful 
to the constitution and the interests of the state ? 
If on examination I find him to be dishonest or 
incapable, nothing could induce me to vote for 



him. If he unites these sterling qualities — then 
is he faithful to the constitution and state. If all 
these questions are answered in the affirmative, 
then I ask, Which of the candidates is most 
highly endowed with these qualities, and is most 
likely to be elected ? 

Again, sir, I hold it to be a duty to use my in- 
fluence that the State of New-York be represented 
in the Senate of the United States; and if Wm. 
H. Seward is not elected, no other person can be 
this session. - 

There is another reason that weighs on my 
mind with great force. If the election of United 
States Senator is disposed of at this time, it will 
relieve the next legislature from the agitation of a 
question that might seriously endanger the perma- 
nence of that wise and humane law which is 
conceded to be the most important measure of 
this session. 

There are many gentlemen I could vote for, 
over whose election the state and the nation 
would rejoice ; but there is no possibility of their 
being elected. I am therefore led to inquire, 
Has William H. Seward shown himself to have 
the requisites of a senator — honesty, capability, 
and faithfulness to the interests of the state and the 
constitution ? 

A rule that has always governed me in judging 
of the characters of men, is to believe them right 
until they are, upon testimony, convicted of 
wrong ; and with regard to our public men, I am 
convinced that public rumor is often a public 
liar, and such testimony on no account should be 
taken. But to obtain correct information, the 
unprejudiced should look to their writings, their 
letters, speeches and votes. These I have exam- 
ined with some diligence, and have come to the 
conclusion that there breathes throughout the 
works of William H. Seward a spirit of candor 
and truth that does honor to his head and heart, 
and his character as ; a statesman. 

As to his capability of filling the seat he now 
occupies, I shall spend no time in arguing. I 
speak the sentiments of friends and foes when I 
say, if he is not capable, theu there is no 01 e in 
that dignified body that is. 

The final question I come to consider is, 
whether he has shown himself faithful to the 
constitution and true to the interests of the 
state, or, in other words, is he a true and faithful 
friend of his country ? 

It is not important for me to know whether in 
all minor things he thinks as I do. I care not 
whether his theological tenets do or do not agree 
with mine. But 1 -have a right to ask, before I 
give my vote, whether his principles or habits 
lead him into indulgences that are hurtful to him- 
self or his neighbor. On this, I am happy to say, 
I am entirely satisfied. II I mistake not. you 
will find in him no drunken brawler, disgracing 
himself and the state he represents ; nor a gam- 
bler, fleecing his victim ; nor debauchee, pollut- 
ing the domestic hearth or ruining innocence^ 
nor a duelist, governed by false principles of 
honor, blowing out the brains of his foe to avenge 
an imaginary or intended insult ; but in his pri- 
vate life he is the faithful husbaud and constant 
friend. In these important matters, he will re- 
present the moral and religious portion of the 
state. Would to God that every member of 
Congress were as pure in their lives as William 
H. Seward! 

But he is accused of recommending the educa- 
tion of Catholic children in that religion, and 



teaching them in a foreign tongue ; and of en- 
deavoring to break up our common school sys- 
tem. If this accusation is true, he could not re- 
ceive my vote. For him to be in favor of the 
destruction or perversion of the public school 
funds, and to labor or to give his conseutto the de- 
struction of our best institution, the common 
school — a system that is the glory of our state — is 
something more than a mistake, it is a crime; 
and a statesman that would recommend this 
should not only not have a seat in the Senate of 
the United States, but shoud not be allowed a 
seat auy where in our state. From my heart I 
say with the poet : 

" Woodman, spare that tree ! 
Touch not a single bough ; 
In youth it sheltered me, 
And I'll protect it now." 

I have sought diligently in his writings to find 
such recommendations, but I have sought in vain. 
In his works* (vol. 2, page 215), I find a passage 
in his annual message, in the year 1840, which 
may have given rise to the charge. With the 
permission of the House, I will read it. After 
alluding to our well endowed public schools and 
excellent libraries, he says: 

'■ The children of foreigners, found in great numbers in 
our populous cities and towns and in the vicinity of our 
public works, are too often deprived of the advantages of 
our system of public education,"in consequence of prejudi- 
ces arising from difference ol language or religion 

* It ought never to be forgotten that the public welfare is 
as deeply interested in their education as in that of our own 
children. 1 do not hesitate, therefore, to recommend the 
establishment^ schools in which they may be instructed 
by teachers speaking the same language with themselves 
and professing the same faith. There would be no inequali- 
ty in such a measure, since it happens, from the force of 
circumstances, if not from choice, that the responsibilities 
of education are, in most cases, confided by us to native 
citizens; and occasions seldom offer for a trial of our mag- 
nauimity, by committing that trust, to persons differing from 
ourselves in language or religion. Since we have opened 
our country and all its fullness to the oppressed ot every 
nation, we should evince wisdom equal to such generosity, 
by qualifying their children for the high responsibilities of 
citizenship." 

In the next year, in his annual message to the 
lature (vol. 2, page 280), he says: 

" Not personally concerned about such misapprehensions 
as have arisen, but desirous to remove every obstacle to 
ihe accompli.-h men t of so Important an object (their edu- 
cation), 1 very freely declare that I seek the education of 
those whom I have brought before you. not to perpetuate 
any prejudice or distinction which deprives them of in- 
struction, but in disregard of all such distinctions and pre- 
judices, I solicit theireducation, less from sympathy than 
because the welfare of the state demands it, and cannot 
dispense with it. As native citizens they are born to the 
right of suffrage. I ask that they may at least be taught to 
read and write; and in asking this, I request no more for 
them than I have diligently endeavored to secure to the 
inmates of our penitentiaries, who have forfeited that ines- 
timable franchise, by crime, and also to an unfortunate race, 
which, having been plunged by us into degradation and ig- 
norance, has been excluded from the franchise by an arbi- 
trary property qualification incougruous with all" our insti- 
tutions. I have not recommended, nor do I seek, the edu- 
cation of any class in foreign languages, or in particular 
creeds or faiths, but fully believing with the author of the 
Declaration of Independence, that even error may be safe- 
ly tolerated when reason is left free to combat it ; and, there- 
fore, indulging no apprehensions from the influence of any 
language or creed among an enligJdened people, I desire 
the education of the entire rising generation in all the ele- 
ments of knowledge we possess, and in that tongue which 
is the universal language of our countrymen. To me the 
most interesting of all our republican institutions is the com- 
mon school. 1 ask not to disturb, in any manner, its peace- 
ful and assiduous exercises, and least of all with contentions 
about faith and forms. I desire the education of all the 
commonwealth in morality and virtue, leaving matters of 
conscience where, according to the principles of civil and 
religious liberty, established by our constitution and laws, 
they rightfully belong " 

* " Works of William H. Seward," published by Ked- 
tield, New- York. 



I shall make no comments on the above. Let 
his friends and enemies read his own words and 
profit by his reflections. 

Sir, it does not come under the line of remarks 
I have lain down for myself, to discuss whether 
it was wise in a statesman to advise the legisla- 
ture to pursue this course to insure the education 
of the thousands who would otherwise be brought 
up in ignorance, and become dangerous members 
of the body politic ; but I do say, that if it were 
a fault, justice and candor will lead the unpreju- 
diced to say, as was said by Goldsmith of the 
faithful village pastor : 

" Pleased with his guests the good man learned to glow, 
And quite forgot their vices in their woe ; 
Careless their merits or their faults to scan, 
His pity gave, ere charity began ; 
Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride, 
And e'en his failings leaned to virtue's side." 

He is represented as being opposed to the pro- 
mulgation of the Bible, and its being read in our 
public schools. 

I will here give my deliberate opinion that the 
statesman that could recommend such a course is 
no friend of our state. I look upon the Bible as 
the bulwark of freedom, the chief corner stone 
in our social and political fabric ; without its sa 
cred teachings our republic would run riot in li 
centiousness and anarchy, and from thence in hot 
haste to despotism. Without the Bible, the fires 
would go out on our altars ; the lights of science 
would burn dim, if not become entirely extin 
guished ; the school-house would decay ; our 
ships would rot in our harbors, for commerce can 
flourish nowhere where the justice and truth of 
the Bible is not maintained. 

The King of Israel, whose wisdom and valor 
raised the ten tribes to the dignity of a nation, 
powerful and respected, says: "Thy word is a 
lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." 
Is there a wretch in human form that would 
break that lamp that the state has put in our com 
mon schools, and prevent its light from shining 
about the path of the rising generation ? Sir the 
Bible is a 

" Most wondrous book; bright candle of the Lord ; 
Star of eternity ; the only star 
By which the bark of man could navigate 
The seas of life and gain the coast of bliss 
Securely." 

Did you see the old man die? 'Twas an in- 
structive and solemn sight, when his glassy eyes 
gave evidence that the windows of his soul were 
shut; clasping his Bible with his emaciated fin- 
gers, in feeble accents, said, This blessed book 
has been the guide of my youth, my instructor in 
riper years, and my comforter until now ; and 
even here it assures me, '.' though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no 
evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff 
they comfort me." Then feeling for his child, he 
says, I haveno worldly goods to leave thee, my son; 
but I bequeath what is of more value than houses 
and lands, thy father's Bible. The good man leaned 
upon the bosom of his son, gave up the ghost, 
and fell asleep in Jesus. Where is the man that 
will rob this youth of his sire's Bible 1 Sir ; wo 
will not give up the Bible. Let this right hand 
forget its cunning and my tongue cleave to the 
roof of my mouth when I forget to plead for the 
Bible. 

But is the charge true that he is opposed to 
the Bible 1 We will call up a witness that his 
enemies will not impeach in this connection— 
his own words. At the Sunday School Celebra- 



6 



tion on Stateu Island, on the 4th of July, 1839, 
he said: 

" Sunday schools and common schools are the great lev- 
elling institutions of the age. I wish you, fellow-citizens, 
Go<l-speed in your benevolent and patriotic labors. Sel- 
dom (toes it happen to any citizen to render to his country 
any service more lasting, or more effectual, than that which 
is accomplished by the teachers of such schools as these." 

Again, at the anniversary of the American Bi- 
ble Society, in the same year, he seconded a reso- 
lution to commence a second supply of the United 
States with the Bible, remarking: 

" I know not how long a republican government can 
flourish among a great people who have not th« Bible. The 
experiment has never been tried. But this I do know — 
that the existing government of this country never could 
have had existence but for the Bible. And further, I do in 
my conscience believe that if at every decade of years a 
copy of the Bible could be found in every family of the 
land, its republican institutions would be perpetual." 

Does ihis look like opposition to the Bible ? 
Why, sir, he speaks, as strongly as language can 
convey his ideas, that he desires the Bible put 
in the hands of every one in the whole country, 
declaring his belief that if that could be done 
every ten years our government would be im- 
pregnable ! Th^re is not one word that I can 
find in all his writings indicating that he has left 
the God of his fathers and the teaching of his 
youth ; but there breathes through his works a 
reverence for the Bible that does honor to the 
statesman. 

The next most serious charge against him is> 
that instead of making politics overrule religion, 
he makes the commands of religion of higher 
authority than those of politics. It is not in the 
line of remarks laid down for myself to dis- 
cuss at this time this higher law doctrine he is 
charged with. I will not here offer an opinion 
whether the three Hebrew children did right in 
refusing to bow down to the image of the proud 
King of Babylon, nor whether Daniel was wise in 
refusing to obey an unjust law, or whether the 
Apostle was right when he said we ought to 
obey God rather than man, but I ask gentlemen 
to note what this man did say. These are the 
words he used in his speech, delivered in the 
Senate, 11th March, 1854, on the admission of 
California : 

"The constitution regulates our stewardship. The con- 
stitution devotes the domain to union, to justice, to defence, 
to welfare and to liberty. But there is a higher law than 
tlie constitution which'regulates our authority over the do- 
main and devotes it to the same nolle purposes. 

" The territory is a part, no inconsiderable part, of the 
common heritage of mankind, bestowed upon them by the 
Creator of the Universe. We are his stewards, and must 
so discharge our trust as to secure, in the highest attainable 
degree, their happiness." 

This is the strictest and the only language he 
has used in reference to what is called the higher 
law. I call upon his enemies to point out a more 
obnoxious passage in all his writings, speeches 
or messages than this. 

" The very head and front of his offending 
Hath this extent — no more." 

And for this, every conceivable epithet and 
abuse has been heaped upon him. 

He has never, in the whole course of his life, 
been found on the side opposed to humanity. 
While he was Governor, he recommended the 
abolition of imprisonment for debt, the meliora- 
tion of prisons, the increase of public charities, 
the extension of schools, the removal of feudal 
tenures, the construction of works of internal 
improvement, the simplification of forms and 
reduction of fees in courts of law. Wnile he 



was practicing his profession afterwards, he 
acted upon the same principle in contesting, in 
the Supreme Court of the United States, the sur- 
render of fugitive slaves by Ohio, and in defending 
without reward, the helpless idiot— Freeman, 
on his trial for murder. If he has erred, it has 
been on the side of philanthropy, not of tyranny. 

His first speech in the Senate was for a cour- 
teous reception to Father Mathew, when became 
there on his temperance mission, and his last for 
granting bounty land to the infirm and crippled 
soldiers of American wars. 

But above all, he has advocated freedom 
through good and evil report. He refused to re- 
turn to Virginiathree men demanded by the Gov- 
ernor of that state, on the charge of having " stol- 
en a slave;" and maintained a long and success- 
ful controversy, denying that there was such a 
crime, either by the laws of New-York or of the 
Union, or of Nations — none of them acknowledg 
ing that man can be man's property. He met in 
the same way a demand from the Governor of 
Georgia for the surrender of a colored woman, 
because she had " stolen " the clothes on her 
back, which, as she was a slave, " belonged to 
her master." So he acted also on another simi 
lar case from Louisiana. He recommended and 
procured the passage of the law by which the 
slaves of Jonathan Lemmon were liberated, and 
that by which Solomon Northrop has lately ob- 
tained his deliverance. He advocated the appli- 
cation of a proviso of freedom to Texas; sup- 
ported the unconditional admission of California, 
and emancipation in the District of Columbia; 
opposed compromises, the slave act, and the Ne- 
braska bill. His opinion and his vote have never 
been wanting, nor ever varied in consistency the 
breath of a hair from the principle that " all 
men are created with equal rights." 

Yet he never carries opposition to slavery to the 
extreme of counseling violence or sedition. His 
first reported speech (1825) was in favor of pre- 
serving the then threatened Union. His argu- 
ments on the territorial question all point to the 
Union as the surest means of attaining Liberty, 
and Liberty as the surest means of preserving the 
Union. His position is thus stated in his speech 
on the Compromise in 1850 ( Works, page 109, 
vol. 1 ) : 

" It is time — high time — that panics about the Union 
should cease ; that it should be known and felt that the con- 
stitution and the Union, within the limits of human security, 
are safe, firm and perpetual. Settle what you can settle ; 
confide in that old arbiter, Time, for his favoring aid in 
settling for the future what belongs to the future, and 
you will hereafter be relieved of two classes of patriots 
whose labors can well be spared : those who clamor tor dis- 
union, either to abolish slavery or to prevent emancipation, 
and those also who surrender principles or sound policy to 
clamors so idle. 

" There is a way — and one way only — to put them at rest. 
Let us go back to the ground where our forefathers stood. 
While we leave slavery to the care of the states where it 
exists, let us inflexibly direct the policy of the Federal Go- 
vernment to circumscribe its limits, and favor its ultimate 
extinguishment," &c., &c. 

He has the courage needed in Washington. In 
a place where other and mighty men have 
cowered before the enemies of universal liberty, 
he has stood like the rock in the ocean, upon 
which the howling winds and rude waves make 
no impression. He resisted successfully the whole 
slavery section when it claimed its so-called 
"criminals." He defended Freeman in the face 
of a storm of popular indignation that threatened 
to mob and hang him. He avowed his determi- 
nation to have McLeod brought to trial, and 



brought to trial he was, in spite of the opposition 
of President Tyler, backed by the whole autho- 
rity of the British government. He never has 
yeilded to popular clamor or agitation — never in 
doubtful and dark seasons taken back a word or 
receded an inch from the doctrines he maintained 
before. His consistency is unimpeachable. He 
has never allowed, the discourtesy, the threats 
and misrepresentations that he met on the floor 
of the Senate to move him from his purpose or 
ruffle his temper. 

He represents the Slate on that floor — not a 
party, nor a personal interest. He advocates or 
opposes measures, not men. He never notices 
personal attacks, nor makes '•personal'' or "party" 
explanations. While firm and uncompromising 
in argument, he has never uttered a single harsh 
or even unkind word of any his ellew members. 
His opponents acknowledge his bearing through- 
out to have been courteous and dignified, befitting 
a gentleman and becoming a Christian. 

If the statements I have made be facts, and the 
portrait I have drawn of William H. Seward 
be correct, what reasons can his enemies bring 
that he should not be reelected ? I can see none, 
unless it be the silly cant, " He does not belong 
to our party." Perish party, when it arrays itself 
against such principles, embodied as they are in 
the man whom I trust will be reelected to the 
Senate of the United States ! Shall party triumph 
over principle 1 

" Oh, tell it not in Gath ; 
Publish it not in the streets of Askalon " — 



that the Legislature of the State of New-York has 
sunk so low ! 

There are none who would rejoice so heartily 
in his defeat as the upholders and defenders of 
slavery. Were it announced, there would be 
congratulations and rejoicings among the slave- 
holders and their apologists and among the pro- 
slavery members of Congress. Kansas and Ne- 
braska — that virgin soil, as yet unpolluted with 
slavery — would be mantled in mourning and 
sorrow. The Northern States, looking to New- 
York for guidance and example, ready to follow 
her lead in the principles of freedom, would bo 
discouraged and disheartened to find her reward- 
ing him who had "borne the burden and heat of 
the day" with neglect and ingratitude. 

That was a wise father who said, "I cannot 
give my consent to unite in wedlock my daughter 
to the man who unnecessarily inflicts cruelty on 
a beast; but I can confide the idol of my heart 
— her over whose every interest I have watched 
since infancy — to the man who can render pity 
and assistance to the wounded dog, or who will 
turn aside lest his foot should crush a worm." 

Sir, it is safe and wise in us to confide the inter- 
ests of this great state to a man of such exalted 
patriotism, such sterling integrity, and such full- 
grown humanity. 

I shall, therefore, Mr. Speaker, if I have an 
opportunity, give my vote and influence for the 
reelection of William H. Seward, as Senator of 
the United States. 



REMAKES OF ME. J. T. HEADLEY. 



Mr. HEADLEY took the floor. He did not 
mean to speak to this resolution at all.- He did 
not regard the original resolution as calling for 
remark. It was one to which everybody could 
assent. It probably would have passed by a 
unanimous vote. There was nothing in it to call 
out opposition — nothing in its spirit or letter 
which could excite a sensation — much less to 
arouse feeling or to require a word of explana- 
tion. He confessed that he had no such strong 
political hatreds as characterized some. He was 
not governed by feelings of bigotry. He was 
disposed to see the good qualities of every man — 
willing to do justice to every man. Even Brutus 
cou'd see and appreciate the good qualities of 
Cssar — but because he was ambitious, slew him. 
His own feelings were strongly excited against 
the man or any man who had become a mere po- 
litical actor, who was playing apart on the pub- 
lic stage, and who, professing to be guided by 
high moral considerations, lied by his conscience 
and cheated by the commandments. We, in this 
country, were apt to talk of freedom, to pity the 
slave and all who suffered under the iron heel of 
despotism in the old world. But was there in 
fact any tyranny on earth to be compared to the 
tyranny of party 1 Was there any power any- 
where which so completely changed every 
thought, every sentiment, as this party despotism, 
which compelled men to lie, to cheat, to deceive 1 
Until this morning, he had not been so entirely 
convinced of the demoralizing effects of this party 
tyranny. Mr. H. alluded to the circumstances 
under which the pending resolution was offered 
— to the fact that he was applied to. to know 
whether a resolution could not be offered here 



which would allow a certain gentleman to express 
his views on Americanism — aiid it wa3 implied; if 
not expressed, that it was for the purpose of ena- 
bling that gentleman to express views not dis- 
similar to his own on this question of the sena- 
torship. Mr. H. expressed warmly his surprise 
to find such a resolution as this sprung upon the 
House, and for the purposes to which it had been 
applied. He asked whether such a course was 
honorable ? Whether falsehood and deception 
were indeed the elements of the moral philosophy 
of this age ? Was it becoming the champion of 
Temperance and Freedom? All this might be 
regarded as an admirable plot — but for himself, 
be would scorn to defeat or promote the success 
of any man by such a course. If he could not 
stand boldly and defend his friend, on his own 
merits and character, he would not use an enemy 
to do it. He had heard of a bargain and sale 
having been entered into between the Tempe- 
rance and Seward men — but he did not believe it ; 
but he would say that a trap had been sprung 
upon this House ; and that it would fail in its 
etfect. He had too much respect for this House to 
imagine that such a plot as this, on the eve of the 
Whig caucus, could succeed. He liked an hon 
or able foe — he admired to see a man come for- 
ward and define his position. He did not com 
plain of that. But he did desire that it should 
be understood that the American party were not 
responsible for the introduction of this resolution, 
or for the consequences ; but that both should 
rest where they belonged. 

As to Mr. Seward, he had no idea of saying a 
word of him when he came into the House. But 
the allusions to him and to his course on the 



8 



school question and the Bible, demanded that he 
shouU say that the representations of both, drawn 
from Mr. Seward's published writings, were 
not such as the facts warranted. Mr. H. averred 
that Mr. Seward's position in his first message 
was in favor of giving to the Roman Catholics 
their own schools and their own teachers, and that 
his subsequent positions were designed to arrest 
the storm ofindignation whichonginal suggestions 
had excited all over the state. These suggestions, 
if carried out, would have made our schools 
sectarian ; they would no longer have been com- 
mon schools. 

At this po ; nt Mr. LEIGH rose to nake a 
remark. 

Mr. HEADLEY declined to yield the floor. 

The CHAIR ( Mr. Blatchforr temporarily 
occupying it) awarded Mr. Headley the floor. 

Mr. LEIGH rose to a p'int of order. The gen- 
tleman had made serious charges against him. 

Mr. FERDON : Reduce the point to writing. 

The CHAIR required the point of order to be 
reduced to writing. 

Mr. HEADLKY was proceeding to speak, when 

The CHAIR suggested that he should take his 
seat until the point of order was reduced to 
writing and decided. 

Mr. LEIGH : I can state it. 

Mr. FERDON : I insist that the point of order 
be put in writing. Let us have it in writing. 

TheCHIAR: The point is insisted on. It must 
be put in writing. 

Mr. LEIGH: Allow me to take exceptions to., 
the ruling of the chair, in a few remarks. 

Mr. PETTY insisted on the point of order being 
put in writing. 

Mr. LEIGH: I object to the ruling of the Chair. 

The CHAIR: The gentleman from Orange h id 
the floor. He was called to order by the gentle- 
man from New-York. The gentleman from 
Greene demanded that the point of order should 
be put in writing. That he had a right to re- 
quire ; and it must be done, or the gentleman 
from Orang„e will proceed. 

Mr. LEIGH here waived his point of order, 
and rose to a privileged question. 

The CHAIR : If the gentleman rises to a privi- 
leged question, he has a right to be heard. 

Mr. LEIGH said he had been misrepresented 
in part. He did go to a gentleman (hesitating) 
he believed from Genesee — 

Mr. STEVENS (in his seat) I thank you for 
the sneer. 

Mr. LEIGH (continuing) — and asked him if he 
had any objection to offering a resolution of this 
kind. He asked me if I would be kind enough 



to write it. He said — 

Mr. LAMPORT (interrupting): Is this a mat- 
ter between Mr. Stevens and Leigh ? 

There was some confusion and excitement 
here — in the course of which, Mr. Leigh was un- 
derstood to withdraw his point of order or ques- 
tion cf privilege — and Mr. Headley was awarded 
the floor, but 

Mr. STEVENS rose. He denied that the gen 
tleman from Orange had a right to say one word 
under the circumstances. The charge now came 
home to him (Mr. Stevens). He was applied to 
by the gentleman from New-York to offer a reso- 
lution which should enable him to define his po- 
siiion on this senator question; and under the 
impression that the gentleman would reverse the 
position he was supposed to occupy, he (Mr. 
S.) fell into the trap set for liim. He regretted 
that he did. He was sorry that he was so far de- 
ceived as to be induced to go to the gentleman's 
colleague and ask him to place this resolution 
before the House, and thus bring the subject up. 
It was all the result of management and trick- 
not of his device, that this trap had been sprung 
upon the House. 

Mr. PETTY rose to speak— but 

The CHAIR awarded thefloor to Mr. Headley. 

Mr. PETTY only desired to show to what 
means men could stoop to accomplish an end. 

Mr. HEADLEY now resumed. After alluding 
briefly to the manner in which the courtesy of 
the House had been abused, after postponing all 
other business that the gentleman from New- 
York might be heard — he went on to allude to 
the school question, and to Mr. Seward's posi- 
tion on it, as illustrating to what extent men in 
high position might be carried by an overween- 
ing desire to catch or to buy foreign votes. But 
he honored Mr. Seward for many things — par- 
ticularly for the manner in which he stood up in 
the cause of freedom, during the first years of 
his senatorial term ; but he was not prepared 
for that cause, to say that Mr. Seward was the 
only man that should be elected U. S. Senator, 
or that members should surrender their prefer- 
ence and their judgment to the behests of party 
leaders who now besieged this House in the hope 
of controlling their votes. Nor could he vote for 
a man who, from his antecedents and inclina- 
tions, could not but go with those who would put 
foreigners into office. Mr. H. closed with an 
appeal to those who had taken an oath never to 
vote to put foreigners in office — and who, he in- 
sisted, could not, without committing perjury, 
give their support to one thus committed to act 
against their obligations and pledges. 



SPEECH OF MR. C. P. JOHNSON. 



Mr. C. P. JOHNSON— Mr. Speaker: I desire 
to occupy but a few moments, in reply to the 
gentleman from Orange (Mr. Headley). His 
intimation that undue influences are brought to 
bear upon members on the floor of this House, 
with reference to the United States Senator, is 
worthy of notice ; and in regard to it I desire to 
ask a few questions. Are members of this le- 
gislature yet to be instructed how to vote upon 
the question of United States Senator? Were 
they not instructed by their constituents before 
coming here ? Especially, will any Whig who 
votes against Wm. H. Seward (if he is nomina- 



ted) ever hope for a political resurrection ? And 
in regard to "party trammels," to which the 
gentleman referred, I ask, what party has a dele- 
gate to each member on this floor — delegated 
keepers— sent here for the express and avowed 
object of defeating the reelection of William H. 
Seward ? What party, and who are the per- 
sons, seeking to control members of this legis- 
lature by the threat of an irresponsible and un- 
lawful oath? Will the gentleman from Orange 
answer ? 

And, sir, who is Wm. H. Seward ? Is he not 
an American born citizen? Is he not an Ortho- 



9 



dox Protestant by profession and example? A 
man of unbending integrity, of inflexible and un- 
impeachable virtue ? Has he not maintained an 
uuspotted moral character? Is he not among 
the few whose body and mind have never been 
debased -by intemperance and debauchery ? 
whose hand has accepted no bribe, was never 
swerved through fear, and never seduced by 
flattery? 

Where is the man who has withstood such 
storms of abuse, uuscatched, as Wm. H. Seward ? 
Over whose head ever rolled such waves of con- 
tumely ? aud who. like him, by the might of 
his integrity aud ability — by the strength of his 
virtue — by hope for his country — by undying love 
and attachment to freedom — by philanthropy to- 
wards his fellow men — and by faith in his God 
— has stood firm and unmoved when the tempest 
howled around him — when the angry waves, 
from forum and pulpit, beat upon — towered above 



•:he storm and quietly rode out the tempest? 
And I trust in God is safely anchored still. 

I am no Romanist. Bat I would not exclude 
from Heaven a Roman Catholic, although I might 
from office under this democratic and republican 
government. But in opposing Romanism, are we 
necessitated also to oppose freedom ? 

I desire to call upon every true American — up- 
on every philanthropic lover of his country — upon 
every genuine friend of freedom — upon every 
friend of God and man — to beware, lest, incautious- 
ly, they be led, through undue zeal in opposing 
Romanism, to so vote on this question of United 
States Senator as to give a death stab to liberty. 
For if Wm H. Seward is elected .to the Senate of 
the United States, freedom triumphs; but if he is 
defeated, it matters not who may be elected, 
freedom is rolled back, and must retire and 
weep at her own altar, — which I pray Heaven 
to prevent. 



SPEECH OF ME. J. W. STEBBINS. 



Mr. STEBBINS said— Mr. Speaker: I entirely 
endorse the sentiments of the resolution. That 
the election of a U. S Senator is clothed with a 
magnitude far outweighing all party considera- 
tions, must be admitted. That the bands of party 
leaders, if any wear them, should be laid entirely 
aside, in determining it, is, to my mind, altogether 
apparent. 

In all political matters, I regard party the means, 
not the end. So long as parties embody, and are 
the exponents of principles, so long, aud so long 
only, are they worthy of an existence. When 
they cease to do this, and become mere gymna- 
siums, in which he who performs the most daring 
feats wius the spoils, it is the right and duty of 
every freeman to crush them out. 

Particularly in the election of a U. S. Senator — 
a post, in my judgment, far more honorable than 
any other in the gift of the people, the Presiden- 
cy not excepted, in which is embodied, or should 
be, the aggregate wisdom and leading character- 
istics of the whole state — ought we to lay aside 
party, or, using it, to use it only for the purpose of 
accomplishing, in the best manner, this great end. 

The public lives of eminent senators, taken to- 
gether, form a sort of picture gallery of ihe States. 
In Webster, profound and far-reaching in thought, 
we see mirrored forth the inventive genius of Mas- 
sachusetts. In his untiring energy, her unceasing 
industry. In the majesty of his eloquence, resem- 
bling more the torrent of Niagara than anything 
to which I can liken it, which, being itself a model 
and without a prototype, is truly aud intrinsically 
Websterian, he resembles the intense emotional, 
the complete rotundity, the power aud grandeur 
of the mind of the pilgrims, and their descendants 
in that state which it was his pride to represent. 

In John vJ. Calhoun was mirrored the inde- 
pendence, the high sense of honor, the dauntless 
chivalry, the unyielding tenacity, and noble 
boldness that dared all for the imagined though 
misjudged Right, for which his idol state has 
been so distinguished. 

Kentucky, too, is epitomized in Henry Clat. 
The lofty grandeur of his scaring eloquence is 
equaled only by that dauntless intrepidity and 
poetic fire which burns in the proud Kentuckian, 
and causes him to dare what others tremble to 
behold. 

2 



Lewis Cass was at one time the embodiment 
of Michigan. 

So of many others whom we might mention. 
Indeed, almost every state has from time to time 
hung up its portrait in this national gallery. 

The choice, then, of a U. S. Senator devolves 
upon us a high responsibility. We are about to 
select a portrait for New-York. That selection 
involves interests for and preeminently above all 
mere party considerations. Because a party is 
corrupt, in and of itself, furnishes no reason why 
I should vote against a man who belongs to it. 

Because a party may be pure, alike furnishes 
no reason why I should not. I rejoice that the 
day seems to be fast hastening when men are to 
act at the dictation of the high behests of reason, 
principle, duty, conscience, rather than at the now 
asthmatic voice of mere party. 

I am a Whig, not because I belong to the Whig 
party ; but because the principles of that party, as 
I understand them, are my principles, so far as 
they go. In casting my vote for this man or that 
for U. S. Senator, I shall do it, not merely because 
he is a Whig. I shall cast that vote for that man 
who under all the circumstances is, in my judg- 
ment, the best exponent of the most of the great 
national principles which I profess, and which I 
believe to be the principles of the great body of 
people of the State of New-York. • 

And what are these principles ? They are sum- 
med up in the one great idea — Americanism; not 
Americanism in a narrow, restricted sense, but in 
the broad amplitude of its signification. It is a 
generic term, and embraces many principles. I 
shall not attempt a detail of them all ; shall only 
glance at a few. But first and foremost, at the 
present crisis, I place that of anti-slavery. 

I know an attempt has been made to sectional- 
ize anti-slavery, and nationalize slavery. It is 
an attempt to invert the order of things. Like 
taking a pyramid and placing its point down- 
wards, and its base upwards, so this attempt, 
propped by southern interests, and supported by 
southern talent, with an occasional sprinkling 
of northern fawning sycophancy, may for a 
time stand ; but the very effort required for 
its support convinces every one that they have 
turned the base the wrong way. 



10 



Slavery national, and anti-slavery sectional! 
Our government is an anti-slavery government, 
our nation an anti-slavery nation. Oppression 
and tyranny, the incipient steps to slavery, drove 
our forefathers from their native land, scented 
the May Flower across the ocean, hunted down 
those self sacrificing devotees of freedom in the 
wilds of this then wilderness continent, aud forc- 
ed them to surrender to tyranny or fight. They 
fought. All honor to their memory. In that 
protracted and bloody struggle, two antagon- 
isms alone entered — liberty and slavery. We 
search the records in vain for any others. Lib- 
erty was triumphant. The God of battles was 
on her side, and we to-day enjoy the bless- 
ings of that triumph. It had been a strange, an 
anomalous proceeding, accounted for upon no well 
settled principles of human action, had those 
men, fresh from that sanguinary conflict, before 
entering into which they had boldly flung the 
banner of freedom to the world, sat down in con- 
vention and deliberately framed a government 
nationalizing slavery. The proposition, it 
seems to me, bears upon its face an absurdity 
so glaring as to carry conviction to every intel- 
ligent mind. 

But we are not left alone in the inductive ar- 
gument drawn from the circumstances which 
gave our nation birth. Those noble men had 
purchased liberty at too great a price to feel 
willing to leave any room for cavil as to whether 
this nation was to be anti-slavery ; whether, in- 
deed, opposition to every form of tyranny should 
not be the broad pedestal upon which true Ameri- 
canism should ever thereafter rest. 

First aud foremost is the preamble to the Con- 
stitution, that gorgeous vestibule to the temple of 
freedom. It says : 

"We the People of the United States, in order to form a 
more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic tran- 
quillity, provide for the common defence, and Secure the 
blessings oj liberty to <rurselve$ and aw posterity, do ordain 
and establish this Constitution foi the United States o\ 
America." 

What language more comprehensive, more full 
and complete could have been employed to 
shadow forth the nationality of liberty, aud pro- 
claim death to national slavery ? 

And what was the language of those who com 
posed the convention thai formed this constitution? 
Let them speak for themselves : 

Said Gov. Morris, of Pennsylvania, "I will 
never concur in upholding domestic slavery. It 
is a nefarious institution. It is the curse of 
Heaven on the state where it prevails." 

Said Elbridoe Gerry, of Massachusetts, "We 
ought to be careful not to give any sanction to 
slavery." 

Said Oliver Ellsworth, of Connecticut, "The 
morality or wisdom of slavery are considerations 
belonging to the States themselves." 

Said Mr. Madison. " I think it wrong to admit 
in the constitution the idea that there can be 
property in man." 

Similar declarations might be quoted at almost 
any .length. 

All the way through, that constitution any such 
recognition was most assiduously avoided ; and 
upon the floor of that convention that framed it, 
history will bear record that no one claimed 
nationality for it, thus forever settling ihe ques- 
tion that Slavery is not national, but local and 
sectional. 

And thus, under the constitution, the Supreme 
Court of the United States has decided. In 



Groves vs. Slaughter, 15 Peters' R., 507, Justice 
McLean says: " If slaves are considered in some 
of the states as m3rchandise, that cannot divest 
them of the leading and controlling quality of 
persons, by which they are designated in the 
constitution. The character of property is given 
them by the local law. This law is respected, 
and all rights under it are protected by the fed- 
eral authorities ; but the constitution acts upon 
slaves as persons, not as property. The power 
over slaves belongs to the states respectively. It 
is local in character and in its effects." 

Can any lauguage more unequivocally fix the 
local character of slavery ? 

There is another significant fact to which I de- 
sire to allude in passing. The struggle of the 
revolution ended — the constitution adopted — 
Washington was almost unanimously chosen the 
first President of the republic. He repaired to 
New-York city, where the first congress assem- 
bled, and then, under the open heavens, with 
the flag of stars and stripes waving over him, he 
took the first oath of office to support the con- 
stitution of the United States. At that hour 
which sealed our national consecration to free- 
dom, that national ensign nowhere within the 
wide domain of our national territory covered a 
single slave. 

Will it still be said that slavery is national, and 
freedom sectional ? And shall he who only 
seeks to drive back slavery to her original lurk- 
ing places, beneath the shield of state rights and 
local laws, and to purge our national domain 
from her polluting touch, be branded with fanati- 
cism and sectionalism 1 And shall he who, stoi- 
cally checking the promptings of philantrophy, 
seeks to defend slavery in her agressions, and to 
keep hands off', in her mad riotings upon soil con- 
secrated by the constitution to freedom, be dig- 
nified as a '-Union saver?" 

Under all this accumulation of evidence, who 
will say that slavery is national? Slaveholders 
may proclaim it in stentorian voices, until it shall 
echo along our valleys and be reverberated from 
our mountains. Could they, by magic art press 
nature to their service, and give to every blade of 
grass, and flower, and waving leaflet, a tongue to 
voice it in sweetest melody to the world, they 
would all be inadequate to the task of causing 
this base falsehood, this foul slander upon our 
country and its founders, to be for a moment be- 
lieved. Slavery is sectional. Forced upon us 
when we were colonies, it was tolerated, when 
we ceased to be, as a monster outrage — never 
sanctioned as a principle. Freedom, anti-slavery, 
are our national inheritance. They are embla- 
zoned upon our banner, and float in every breeze, 
and will so continue until the stars and stripes 
shall trail in the dust at the heel of despotism, 
which God grant may never be ! 

I regard this sectional issue — raised by the 
slaveholders of the South, and endorsed by the 
dough-faces of the North, under the attractive 
guise of " Union Savers" — as a dark and diaboli- 
cal crusade against the liberty of this country 
and the world. Should it triumph, ours would 
be added to the hecatomb of nations whose fires 
have gone out before the poisonous breath of 
tyranny, and across whose spanning arch " Icha- 
bod " is written in characters of blood. 

Heuce it is ihat I place first aud formest in 
the catalogue of American principles, to which 
he must be ardeutly devoted who shall receive 
my vote, that of anti-slavery. 



11 



But there is another reason why, at this particu- 
lar time especially, I place this principle first and 
foremost. 

While slaveholders, and those who sympathize 
with them, have for some years waged an un- 
ceasiug war against the liberties of our country, 
knowing well that these two antagonisms could 
not by possibility flourish aud grow together, and 
being determined that slavery shall not die, they 
have especially concentrated their elibrts And 
brought all their power to bear upon the State of 
New-York, because, to use their own language, 
"the arch-agitator of anti-slavery" resides here. 
More than this, they have narrowed down this 
g-eat struggle between freedom and slavery, and 
centred the entire issue in the defeat of one man. 
Whv is this ? Why did they not suffer the issue 
to remain upon the broad principle, and not shriv- 
el it down to the narrow dimensions of one man ? 
for in comparison with it any man, however great, 
is indeed small. Why have they driven the lib- 
erty-loving representatives £>f the liberty-loving 
people of the State of New-York into this narrow 
issue ? Did they hope thereby to introduce side 
issues enough against the man to defeat him, and 
in his defeat to crush the anti-slavery feeling in 
the state, and thus to do indirectly what they 
dare not attempt directly? In this, if I do not 
greatly misjudge, they have sadly mistaken the 
spirit and feeling and temper of the people. 
When a great principle is unfortunately made to 
stand or fall by one man, and made so by the 
enemies of that principle, think you the principle 
will be abandoned ? Never. The man is nothing. 
the principle everything. 

Can any true American join southern tyrants in 
their unholy crusade against freedom or the 
champions of freedom ? Can he even fold his 
arms, and seal his lips in silence, while it is going 
on ? Can he do so, while the dark cloud of sla- 
very continues to skirt our southern horizon, 
burying in impenetrable gloom three millions 
and a half of our race ? Beats there an Arnerieau 
heart that will not come to the rescue at the 
sight of these three millions and a half, whose 
humanity is trampled under foot, whose moral 
powers are benumbed, whose noble intellects are 
dwarfed and shriveled, and whose immortal, 
heaven-ascendiug aspirations are checked and 
crushed beneath the iron heel of oppression'? 

Another principle — second only in importance 
to the one already mentioned, because its an- 
tagonism is less powerful — embraced in the great 
American idea is, resistance to foreign influence. 
Our government stands an antagonism to the 
governments of the world. They look upon lib- 
erty and its progress with jealous eyes. Gladly 
would many of them see this republic fall and 
upon its ruins a despotism arise. They have not 
been scrupulous in opening their prisons and dis- 
gorging their paupers and criminals upon out- 
shores. Whether they have done this more for 
the purpose of freeing themselves from a trouble 
than of weakening our government, I will not 
pretend to judge. That it operates in the latter 
way is evident. 

More than half of all the crimes committed in 
the United States are committed by foreigners; 
while their number, to that of the American born', 
is as about one to eight. According to the statisti- 
cal table in the census of 1850, 26 617 persons 
were convicted of crimes committed in the United 
States, in the year ending June, 1850, of which 
13,691 were committed by foreigners and 12,926 



by American born citizens. In the city of 
New-York, during the year 1853, there were com- 
mitted to prison, for 93 specified offences, 28,405 
persons, of whom 22.291, or nearly three-fourths, 
were natives of foreign countries. Of the 7,075 
liquor sellers who are carrying on that accursed 
traffic in that city < it has been ascertained that 
5 597, almost three-fourths, are foreigners 

Of those who come among us from foreign 
lands it is conceded that many are worthy citi- 
zens, and noble specimens of their countrymen 
and race. Out of the larger proportion, under 
the fostering care of our liberal institutions, 
much can be made. To all except the shipped 
convicts from the prisons of Europe we extend 
the cordial welcome. We invite them to partake 
with us of the delicious fruits of liberty. We 
ask of them, in return, that they love our institu- 
tions; that they study with all diligence to con- 
form to them; that without complaining they 
suffer us to place such guards around our ballot 
box, the palladium of our liberties, and prescribe 
such qualifications for the holding of office, as in 
our judgment will secure a sound and American 
administration of the entire government 

Truckling politicians aud unprincipled dema- 
gogues — knowing the ease with which they could 
secure the confidence aud support of adopted 
citizens, and particularly understanding the po- 
litcal tendencies and tli3 power-loving spirit of 
the Romish church, and that the thousands of 
that church could be swayed to and fro at the 
nod of an ambitious prelate, have lent themselves 
to this ignoble work. 

Let this past misconduct, as degrading to an 
American as it is dishonorable to the adopted 
citizen, and devilish in the ambitious prelate 
thus to prostitute the high and holy offices of 
Christianity, suffice. If so, Americans, not illib- 
eral and proscriptive as those are who thus 
charge them, will, with their characteristic mag- 
nanimity, generously blot out the past, aud start- 
ing under a pure American sway, look only to 
the future. But woe to that man hereafter, be 
he north or south, east or west, save-holder or 
non-slaveholder, who dares throw himself in the 
way of any of these great American principles. 

True Americanism must, in the nature of the 
case, oppose tyranny, and every tendency 
towards slavery in every form in which it can 
be presented. It can no more love or tolerate 
slavery in the negro than in the white, under the 
southern planter than under ;<he Pope. He who 
does not thus embrace it, if he does embrace it 
at all, is a Lilliputian' in Americanism — at best an 
American but half made up. Talk about "bo- 
gus Americans : " if such beings exist, he ig 
one. 

There is another principle embraced in the 
great American idea, which, after what has been 
said upon this floor, I cannot pass in silence. It 
is the higher law. That law has been branded 
upon this floor as "treason, black-hearted trea- 
son." What such language means I cannot com- 
prehend. Obedience to the higher law treason 
to the state ! I had always supposed that civil 
government was a part of the divine economy, 
that it was in the order of God's providence, and 
based upon the divine law; that the great 
principles of that law were embodied in, and 
ran all through, and formed the frame work of 
civil governments, touching all the outline duties 
of man. I had also understood that the perfec- 
tion of human government was its near approach 



12 



to and harmony with the divine. Viewed in its 
proper sense, that law is no law that tramples 
upon and sets at defiance the " higher law. " It 
is a nullity, a blank, as much so as though it had 
never been written. 

As I read our history, our government was 
founded upon such a recognition of the binding 
force of the higher law. The Declaration of 
Independence, that John Baptist of our national 
existence, settles the question. " We hold these 
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created 
free and equal, and endowed by their Creator 
with certain inalienable rights, among which 
are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 
That to secure these rights government was 
instituted." The inalienable rights of man, which 
no human power can alienate, with which his 
Creator has endowed him, are the objects to 
secure which human governments are instituted. 
If government is instituted to secure these rights, 
when it fails to do so, and sets them at defiance, 
whence does it receive its binding force? Ac- 
cording to every well established principle of 
law and equity, the individuals have a right to 
their election either to compel a specific perfor- 
mance, or treat it as a nullity. 

Those men of the revolution, who thus in mild 
but most unequivocal phrase proclaimed the doc- 
trine of a " higher law," first sought a specific 
performance, and failing in this they threw off 
that government that had become of no binding 
force, and void, because it had ceased to respect 
and follow the authority of that " higher law." 

That revolution was prayed over around the 
domestic altar aud in the pulpit during the week 
days and upon the Sabbath. All over this land, 
from ten thousand pious hearts, the orisons of 
devotion, blending, went up in one mighty volume 
to Heaven for the success of the American arms. 
And though there were those whose feet were 
clad with the gross sandals of infidelity, there 
were yet others who, wearing the sandals of faith 
and the helmet of righteousness, boldly ascend- 
ed the burning mountain of that revolution, and 
bore therefrom in safety the tables of stone, up- 
on which God himself had carved the "higher 
law." 

Why did McDuffie declare that Declara- 
tion of Independence to be " a mere rhetorical 
flourish %' 3 It was because he saw that there 
underlaid that declaration a recognition of the 
divine law — of a superintending Providence, 
that overrules and controls, by an infinitely pure 
and wise legislation, governments as well as indi- 
vid uals. It was because he saw an irreconcilable 
collision between the pure principles of that 
diviue government and his idol vice. 

France once, as a nation, repudiated the "high- 
er law." She impiously voted God out of her 
dominions. The "reign of terror" followed. 
It abandoned, no nation can long survive. It is 
the centripetal force, that holds nations in their 
proper orbits, as they revolve around the great 
central Government of the Universe, whose domi- 
nions are immensity and whose throne is God. 

But this is no new idea. It is as old as govern- 
ment. Tyrants • have ever sought to crush it; 
but the mighty hand of Providence has held it 
up. 

Blackstone, the compiler of those old common 

, law painciples, spoke thus in a darker age than 

this, aud it now remains the common law of the 

land, to which the law student is introduced at 

the threshold of his studies : 



" Man, considered as a creature, must necessarily be sub* 
ject to the laws of his Creator, for he is entirely a depend- 
ent being. A being, independent of any other, has no rule 
to pursue but such as he prescribes to himself; but a state 
of dependence will inevitably oblige the inferior to take the 
will of him on whom he depends as the rule of his conduct ; 
not, indeed, in every particular, but in all those points 
wherein his dependence consists. This principle, therefore, 
has more or less extent and effect, in proportion as the su- 
periority of the one and the dependence of the other is 
greater or less, absolute or limited. And, consequently, as 
man depends absolutely upon his Maker for everything, it 
is necessary that he should in all points conform to his Ma- 
ker's will. 

" This will of his Maker is called the law of nature. For as 
God, when he created matter, and endued it with a princi- 
ple of mobility, established certain rules for the perpetual 
direction otthat motion; so, when he created man, and en- 
dued him with free-will to conduct himself in all parts of 
life, he laid down certain immutable laws of human nature, 
whereby that free-will is in some degree regulated and re- 
strained, and gave him also the faculty of reason to discov- 
er the purport of those laws. 

"Considering the Creator only as a being of infinite j>ow~ 
er, he was able, unquestionably, to have prescribed what- 
ever laws he pleased to his creature, man, however unjust or 
severe. But as he is also a being of" infinite wisdom, he has 
laid down only such laws as were founded in those relations 
of justice that existed in^pie nature of things antecedent to 
any positive precept. These are the eternal, immutable 
laws of good and evil, to which the Creator himself in all 
his dispensations conforms ; and which he has enabled hu- 
man reason to discover, so far as they are necessary for the 
conduct of human actions. Such, among others, are these 
principles : that we should live honestly, should hurt no- 
body, and should render to every one his due ; to which 
three great precepts Justinian has reduced the whole doc- 
trine of law. 

" This law of nature being coeval with mankind, and dic- 
tated by God himself, is of course superior in obligation to 
any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, 
and at all times : no human laws are of any validity if con- 
trary to this ; and such of them as are valid derive all their 
force and all their authority, mediately or immediately, 
from this original. 

"But in order to apply this to the particular exigencies of 
each individual, it is still necessary to have recourse to rea- 
son ; whose office it is to discover, as was before observed, 
what the law of nature directs in every circumstance of 
life, by considering what method will tend the most effec- 
tually to our own substantial happiness. And if our reason 
were always, as in our first ancestor before his transgres- 
sion, clear and perfect, unruffled by passions, unclouded by 
prejudice, unimpaired by disease or intemperance, the task 
would be pleasant and easy ; we should need no other guide 
but this. But every mau now finds the contrary in his own 
experience ; that his reason is corrupt, and his understand- 
ing full of ignorance and error. 

" This has given manifold occasion for the benign interpo- 
sition of Divine Providence; which, in compassion to the 
frailty, the imperfection, and the blindness ol human rea- 
son, hath been pleased, at sundry times and in divers man- 
ners, to discover and enforce its laws by an immediate and 
direct revelation. The doctrines thus delivered we call the 
revealed or divine law, and they are to be found only in the 
Holy Scriptures. These precepts, when revealed, are found 
upon comparison to be really a part of the original law of 
nature, as they tend in all their consequences to man's fe- 
licity. But we are not from thence lo conclude that the 
knowledge of these truths was attainable by reason, in its 
present corrupted state : since we find that, until they were 
revealed, they were hid from the wisdom of ages. As then 
the moral precepts of this law are indeed of the same origi- 
nal with those of the law of nature, so their intrinsic obliga- 
tion is of equal strength and perpetuity. Tet undoubtedly 
the revealed law is of infinitely more authenticity than that 
moral system which is framed by ethnical writers, and deno- 
minated the natural law. Because one is the law of nature 
expressly declared so to be by God himself; the other is 
only what, by the assistance of human reason, we imagine 
to be that law. If we could be as certain of the latter as 
we are of the former, both would have an equal authority; 
but, till then, they can never be put in any competition 
together. 

" Upon these two foundations, the law of nature and the 
law of revelation, depend all human laws ; that is to say, 
no human laws should be suffered to contradict these. 
There are, it is true, a great number of indifferent points, 
in which both the divine law and the natural leave a man 
at his own liberty, but which are found necessary for the 
benefit of society to be restrained within certain limits. 
And herein it is that human laws have their greatest force 
and efficacy; for with regard to such points as are not in- 
different, human laws are only declaratory of, and act in 
subordination to, the former. To instance iu the case of 



13 



murder ; thi9 is expressly forbidden by the divine, and de- 
monstrably by the natural law; and from these prohibi- 
tions arise the true unlawfulness of this crime. Those hu- 
man laws that annex a punishment to it do not at all in- 
crease its moral guilt, or superadd any fresh obligation, in 
foro co/iscientitw, to abstain from its perpetration. Nay, if 
any human law should allow or enjoin us to commit it, we 
are bound to transgress that human law, or else we must 
offend both the natural and the divine." 

Where can be found better higher law doctrine 
than this ? Where sounder or more logically ex- 
pressed principles? Here the higher law doctrine 
stands. It is the foundation of all law and all gov- 
ernment. Remove it. and human government 
would fall, and wild chaos regin throughout the 
world. I rejoice that, in these degenerate times, 
one man has been found who dared to stand up on 
the floor of Congress, in the face of tyrants and 
slaveholders, and resisting the double power of 
aristocracy and wealth, calmly and deliberately 
unbury and hold up this doctrine of doctrines, 
the " higher law." 

All "human laws are only declaratory of, and 
act in subordination to," the divine law, so far as 
the d ivine bears upon them. There are, sir, three 
great departments into which the universe of in- 
telligence is divided. Those above, those on 
earth, and those beneath. Those above are gov- 
erned alone by the higher law. Man ac- 
knowledges the supremacy of the higher law, and 
claims that all human laws touching those great 
principles shall conform thereto. Those below, 
alone desire, seek, and endeavor to secure the 
supremacy of the " lower low. " 



Ever acknowledging the supremacy and bind- 
ing force of that higher law, living I shall revere 
it, and dying, grasp it as the anchor of the soul. 
Should any mere human enactment come in colli- 
sion with it and command me to do what it for- 
bids, as I love my God and desire His approval 
above all else — an approval that shall last when 
"thrones and principalities'' shall crumble, 
when earth shall wane and suns and stars shall 
fade — I shall obey, to the be3t of my ability, Him 
whose command is supreme. Yea, load down 
your human enactment with pains and penalties 
that shall fall like an avalanch of thunder-bolts 
and shiver me in fragments : now and forever 
humbly trusting Him, the Ruler of the universe, 
I shall grasp by faith the " higher law," and 

" Bid earth roll, nor heed its idle whirl." 

Actuated by these views, Mr. Speaker, no nar- 
row, contracted policy, or personal animosities, 
or partizan ends shall govern my vote; nor will 
I suffer myself to be made the tool of any clique 
or faction or party in castiug that vote. I stand 
upon this floor unpledged for or against any 
man. As a freeman, not governed by any con- 
siderations of self; as a lover of my race, of 
every hue and caste ; and under a profound sense 
of my obligation to th3 great Searcher of hearts, 
I shall endeavor to cast that vote for the honor of 
my cor.ntry and my God. 



SPEECH OF MR. D. C. LITTLEJOHN. 



The Hon. the SPEAKER said (Mr. Blatch- 
ford being in the chair) Sir: I have a deep and 
abiding faith in the immutable justice of Him 
who presides over the destinies of the universe. 

I believe Ha holds nations and 'states, as he 
holds individuals, to a strict accountability for 
their acts and crimes; and I believe further, sir, 
that he who, in the far distant future, in search- 
ing the pages of history, shall find there recorded 
(which Heaven avert!) thatthis great and happy 
republic, like ancient Rome and Greece, has 
ceased to be, will also find the faithful historian 
proclaiming the cause — the overshadowing and 
destroying agency of African slavery* and op- 
pression — as a warning to generations yet un- 
born . 

Slavery is a national crime ; and if not for its 
existence, yet for its extension, we as- a state will 
be held in part accountable. It is our duty, 
therefore, both as a legislature and a state, to 
return now, as ever, tried and faithful men to 
our national councils, who will peaceably yet 
firmly resist its further encroachments. 

The great question, whether these distinctive 
agencies shall work out their legitimate and para- 
lysing fruits in this republic, is soon to be tried. 
This legislature, sir, is to act as a party if not to 
sit as umpire in this great trial. The duty which 
the constitution and the laws impose upon us, 
as the representatives of the people of this great 
state, in the election of a Senator of the United 
States, bears upon the weal or the woe of the fu- 
ture of our beloved country. There is a man, by 
name William H. Seward, who, in the Senate 
Chamber of the nation, has boldly , fearlessly and 
nobly battled for freedom. (Applause.) If, in 



the future, the great Dispeuser of justice to the 
nations of the earth shall blot out this repub- 
lic because of its transgressions, let us hope that 
our action may not contribute to an end so fear- 
ful. This legislature, in my humble opinion, sir, 
owes it to itself, to freedom and to the world, to 
return William H. Seward to the Senate of the 
United States. In a matter 60 vital to questions 
of absorbing state and national interest, we 
should rise above all mere party considerations — 
throw off' all unworthy trammels and paltry parti- 
zan objects — and act like men, independently, ho- 
nestly and fearlessly. What are personal consi- 
derations — what is personal popularity — when 
weighed in the scale against justice and freedom ? 
We came not here — if we came as honest men — 
to elevate self above the public interests. No 
man, having received and accepted a public 
trust at the hands of the people, has a right to 
look to his individual interests. No man, when 
high and holy principles are at stake, has a right 
to remember even party distinctions. Let us, 
the:*, sir, in the discussion of this subject, forget 
that we are either Whigs or Democrats, and let 
us array ourselves upon the side of liberty and 
humanity. 

Sir, something was said by the gentleman from 
Orange (Mr. Headlet) about a combination be- 
tween the friends of temperance and Mr. Sew- 
ard — between those who favor the Maine law 
and those who desire to preserve the liberty of 
the country. Sir, I deny the charge, in language 
the most unequivocal. No such combination has 
been or will be entered into. 

Mr. HEADLEY: I said, that such war the 
rumor. 



14 



The SPEAKER: Then, sir, I say that rumor 
is a liar. [Applause.] Something was also said 
about the bonds of party obligations, and the 
controlling influence and improper interference 
of party leaders. Sir, I own no leader. Nor do 
I believe that auy of my associates on this floor 
are controlled by leaders, or swayed agaiust their 
own sense of right and justice, unless it be those 
shackled by the oaths so threateningly cited by 
the gentleman from Orange. Parties exist, and 
parties must needs exist. But parties and the 
leaders of parties should be held in subordina- 
tion to principle. When thus held, parties are 
useful ; men having common sympathies and 
common aims should act together. If it shall 
appear that there is in this body a majority op- 
posed to the extension of slavery, and if that 
majority shall, as I most devoutly hope, choose 
to select William H. Seward as the champion 
of freedom, to represent them in the Senate of 
the United States, they will do so from the dic- 
tation of no party leaders, but from a conscious- 
ness of his preeminent fitness for that high trust. 
Talk, sir, of party obligations controlling the 
members of this legislature ! The gentleman 
from Orange talks of such obligations, and dis- 
courses to us of party leaders and out-door dicta- 
tion ! He, sir, who avows himself the member 
of a party which has commissioned men, not 
known to the laws, to dog their foot-steps and 
trammel their actions ! What other party thus 
dictates to its members ? What other party 
binds its members by oaths and penalties to sub- 
mit their reason, their judgment, their conscien- 
ces, to the keeping of others ? 

Mr. LAMPORT (excited): Have you not tak- 
en that oath 1 

The SPEAKER: I will speak to that question 
of oaths in due season. Is an oath taken in an 
unguarded moment, to commit murder, to be re- 
garded ? If one shall, by the cunning and trick- 
ery of artful men, be led to take an oath to for- 
ever do violence to his own conscience, by sub- 
mitting his will to the control of others, shall he 
do this violence to his own conscience? If I 
should under circumstances like these take such 
an oath, I should appeal to a higher power to 
justify me in my self-emancipation. Sir, no oath 
shall stand between me and my Maker. (Ap- 
plause.) I hope, sir, I am a man of princple ; and 
if, in an evil hour — beguiled by men more crafty 
than myself — I should take an oath to take my 
neighbor's life, that oath should, before Heaven, 
be disregarded. And if, in an unguarded mo- 
ment, I should have taken an oath which I found 
to interfere with my conscience — to interpose 
between my sense of right and my Maker — as a 
man, responsible to God, I should discard that 
oath. (Applause.) 

Sir, we talk of " Americanism" as the great 



end of our legislation ! As that phrase has come 
to be understood, compared with other great and 
pressing questions, : t is but as the mole hill to 
the mountain. I have no restricted view of 
" Americanism." I look above and beyond the 
narrow sphere to which it is sought to be con- 
fined. There are high and holy principles — 
principles identified with justice, humanity and 
freedom, but which are discarded by those who 
would direct and control the " Americanism " of 
the day— worthy of the support and advocacy of 
Americans. I would embrace all those princi- 
ples in my creed, and pray for their triumph. 

But, sir, I have said all that I desired, and more 
than I designed to say, on this resolution. I 
simply wish to say that, regardless of consequen- 
ces to myself — fearless of its effect upon my per- 
sonal standing or popularity, with my constitu- 
ents or throughout the state — I shall cast my vote 
for William H. Seward. (Applause.) Sir, the 
man who does right is the popular man with the 
people. (Applause.) And I wished also to de- 
ny, in the most emphatic language, the imputation 
that, to secure desired results, a combination had 
been formed between the friends of temperance 
on the one hand and of William H. Seward on 
the other ; and to add to this denial my views 
of party obligations and extra-judicial oaths. 

And in conclusion, sir, I wish to say to my 
friend from New-York (Mr. Petty) that if he is 
in the least ashamed of his resolution, I will 
most cheerfully father it. [Laughter and ap- 
plause.] I will most gladly assume the respon- 
sibility, as well of its sentiments as of its timely 
introduction. My respected friend (Mr. Leigh) 
has been accused with having, in this matter, 
acted dishonorably. But, sir, I cannot see 
wherein he has so acted. It is customary when 
a gentleman wishes to have a resolution introdu- 
ced as the basis of remarks he desires to make, 
to request a friend to present the resolution to 
the House. "If, in this case, the wrong man was 
selected, f ,it was a misfortune. If his views, 
when uttered, disappointed those who were 
awaiting them, it was, perhaps, a matter of re- 
gret. But, sir, for doing as he did. he does not 
deserve the censure that has been heaped upon 
him. He has always proved himself to be a 
gentleman of honorable feelings, and I thank him 
for the very able and fearless views he has ex- 
pressed to-day — particularly when those views 
may clash with theviews entertained by a major- 
ity of his constituents. I have always found him 
a man of generous impulses, and his course to- 
day will but add to his well earned reputation 
as a man of high and noble principle as a le- 
gislator. I shall rejoice, on Tuesday next, to 
vote, with him, for William H. Seward, the 
fearless champion of justice and liberty, (.Ap- 
plause.) 



SPEECH OF MR. H. BAKER. 



Mr. BAKER: I would not, Mr. Speaker, have 
troubled the House at this time with my remarks 
upon the resolution under consideration, were 
it not for the fact that the mover (Mr. Petty) 
has made a charge against his colleague (Mr. 
Leigh) of unfairness in the character of his re- 
marks, simply, sir, because that gentleman's re- 
marks have not been what the mover hoped or 



expected they would be, and^ although he himself 
had first addressed the House on this resolution, 
and in that address had assailed the character of 
a gentleman whose name has been spoken of in 
connection with the office of United States Sena- 
tor. I say, sir, were it not for this charge made 
against the motives of my friend from New-York 
(Mr. Leigh), the assault made upon the great 



15 



statesman of New-York, and the further charge 
made — by implication or expressly by tho gen- 
tleman trom Orauge — that there is a corrupt 
bargain between the friends of William H. Sew- 
ard aud the friends of the Prohibitory Maine 
Law in this Houee to aid and support each other 
in securing the accomplishment of their respec- 
tive lavonte measures, I should not have the 
disposition or courage to claim the attention of 
the House while I attempt to repel the charge of 
any agreement or understanding between the 
friends of Mr. Seward and the friends of the 
Maine Law, aud also to express, very briefly, my 
owu views upon tho resolution under debate. 
Sir, 1 wish here to declare, distinctly and empha- 
tically, that I have entered into no bargain or 
agreement whatever. I determined, sir, from 
the first, that I would allow no other question, 
whatever its character might be, to interfere with 
a hxe i and unchangeable purpose to discharge 
my duty upon this great question of United 
States Senator; nor will 1 permit any question to 
bias my judgment, if I cau prevent it. Sir, there 
is no need of it, nor will there be any such cor- 
rupt compromise. I, for one (and I believe I 
speak the views ot all the members of this 
House opposed to the Maiue Law) shall stand 
firm iu my opposition to that law whenever it 
shall come to a vote. I shall give my vote fear- 
lessly aud clearly, and whatever may be the 
result, I shall continue to stand where 1 have 
ever stood on that question; and I repel the charge 
of a combination as false and unworthy of any 
honorable man to make without proof. Sir, if 1 
were sure that the remarks I am now making 
would give the Maine Law forty v tes, I should 
utter them on this occasion as fearlessly as if I 
kuew that they would make that difference the 
other way. No, sir, I am in favor of having 
every question, upon which we are called to 
legislate, stand upon its own merits ; and if it be 
right, just aud expedient in itself, then it is en- 
titled to the support of all honest men — if not, it 
deserves their condemnation. 

But, sir, I will speak to the resolution ; and al- 
though the mover and his friends seem to desire a 
suppression of the discussion which it has pro- 
voked, yet he having introduced and spoken 
upon it, has no right in honor to prevent or hinder 
a free and unreserved expression from all who 
wish to be heard. And, sir, in what 1 have to say, 
I desire to be distinctly understood that I shall 
6ay it upon my own responsibility — being under 
no obligation to any party ; nor in what T shall do 
or not do, am I bound by any oath or obligation 
other than that I took at your desk when 1 
entered upon my duties in this House. lam not 
shackled and bound by oaths and obligations 
entered into or imposed upon me by a secret in 
qnisitiun concealed in darkness and under lock 
and key. No, sir, I am free from the shackles 
and restraints of all obligations except those im- 
posed by the conviction of my own head and 
heart. Those obligations, sir, cannot and shall 
not be violated, unless I shall be restrained by 
physical power. 

It seems, sir, from what has been said, that the 
effect of the introduction of this resolution is hot 
what was intended. I am not cognizant of the 
manner of its introduction, but what has trans- 
pired goes to show me that the intention of its 
introduction was to give an opportunity for a 
certain class of gentlemen on this floor to accom- 
plish an object. Finding this not to have been its 



primary purpose, and finding also that the re- 
marks of the gentleman from New-York ( Mr. 
Leigh) were the reverse of what was expected 
and ardently desired, they give utterance to their 
disappointment in lauguage of censure and dis- 
courtesy. 

But, sir, I do not sympathize with those dis- 
appointed gentlemen, because I do not thiuk my 
friend from New-York intended to take any un- 
just advantage of them. On the contrary, sir, 
he has but discharged a public duty faithfully, 
which the resolution called upon him to do. 
What, sir, was the motive of that resolution, if 
not to give the members of this House a fair 
opportunity to express their views on the sub- 
jects embraced within its scope ? I supposed 
the intention was to inquire into the prospects 
of a certain statesman mentioned in connection 
with the high aud responsible office of senator; 
but having failed to accomplish what they in- 
tended and hoped for, have seen fit to perpetrate 
these assaults. 

But, sir, I have no desire to participate in that 
controversy. It is enough for me to know that 
the gentleman who introduced it, as well as the 
gentleman who first suggested its introduction, 
have availed themselves of the opportunity 
which it afforded them to express their views. 
I shall claim the right to follow their example. 
But, sir, iu doing so, I will promise that I am not 
prepared with an elaborate speech ; but I shall 
speak on, in my own plain and blunt way, such 
sentiments as I have, and such as will govern 
me in giving my vote on United States Senator. 

Sir, those who have preceded me have express- 
ed in detail the qualities and' characteristics 
which the candidate must possess who will get 
their vote for senator. I too will state what sen- 
timents the candidate of my choice must have and 
act upon as a fixed and settled principle — and, 
sir, in addition to a settled and binding sentiment 
in favor of freedom, and opposition to the en- 
croachments and tyranny of slavery, the candi- 
date who will receive my vote must be an Ameri- 
can in sentiment and heart. He must not pre- 
sent himself to me or for my support on a nar- 
row, contracted and "foreign" platform, but 
he must stand on the great American doctrine 
or platform upon which Washington and Jeffer- 
son and all the Presidents of this Republic have 
stood from its foundation to the present time— • 
a platform, sir, reared by the first republican 
settlers of the colonies, before we were organi- 
zed as a nation. 

I do not think, sir, that the free soil sentiment 
alone in the candidate would control my vote, 
without other sentiments and qualities; that, 
however, must be one of. the elements in the 
character of the man for whom I shall vote. 

But, sir, he must, abovo all and before all, be 
in favor of a free and unrestrained toleration 
of all religions. That, sir, is an American doc- 
trine ; and I am surprised to see gentlemen in 
this House, who profess to have more love for 
America and American sentiment than others, 
yet trampling upon this great republican doc- 
trine of freedom to worship God according to 
the dictates of conscience. Sir, this idea of 
freedom of conscience in religious faith is a great 
American principle; and so deeply and profoundly 
were the founders of this republic impressed 
with this great republican doctrine, that they 
solemnly incorporated it in the constitution of the 
United States. Washington presided over the 



16 



convention that framed this constitution, and 
worked for the adoption of this guarantee in 
our fundamental law. Was he an American? 
was he republican ? This great American doc- 
trine, sir, is about to be repudiated by a party 
claiming to be more American than others. 
Yes, sir, a class of men are springing up in the 
politics of this country more bigoted, intolerant 
and prescriptive than the inquisition in Spain 
—claiming to be peculiarly American in their 
feelings and sentiments — and to be law-abiding 
and order-loving people, yet trampling upon one 
of the most sacred political rights guaranteed by 
our republican constitution. This guarantee is 
incorporated and expressed in the charter of 
our liberties, in the following words : 

" Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment 
of religion, or prohibiting the tree exercise thereof; or 
abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or the 
right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition 
the government for a redress of grievances." 

I would ask those who assume to embody all 
the virtues of Americanism, if they stand upon 
this platform reared by the fathers of this re- 
public ? Are they for the free toleration of all 
religions in the spirit of our constitution, as 
were Washington, and Jefferson, and Adams 1 
or does this new party, who profess so much love 
for America and its institutions, directly violate 
the principle of toleration, by the most bitter 
and relentless proscription of those who may 
happen to worship God in a different form from 
them ? 

But, sir, this same doctrine has been incorpo- 
rated into the constitution of this state, which 
declares that " The free exercise and enjoyment 
of religious profession and worship, without dis- 
crimination or preference, shall forever be allow- 
ed in this state to all mankind." And again, as 
if to re-affirm the maxim, and to admonish men 
of their rights and duties, it is declared in the 
constitution of this state that " no other oath, 
declaration or test shall be required as a qualifi- 
cation for any office or public trust," except to 
support the constitution, &c. Yet, sir, we have 
a party in this state who require of their mem- 
bers the taking of an oath unknown to our laws, 
like the foreign order of Jesuits. Is this Ameri- 
can? It seems to me, sir, that this secret society 
for political purposes is foreign in its character, 
and is the most hostile to the true American doc- 
trine, of any thing that has ever been devised or 
introduced in this country. 

Sir, 1 am opposed to the contracted bigotry, 
the cruel intolerance, and brutal proscription of 
this new order; and the candidate, sir, who will 
get my vote for United States Senator must be 
free from these anti-American sentiments. I am 
an American, and will give my vote only to him 
whom I believe to be a true representative of the 



American doctrine and principle of freedom in 
religious faith and worship. 

Sir, the candidate who gets my vote for that 
high office must be a man in whose heart resides 
not only the abstract principles of freedom, but 
the love of justice and benevolence; a man, sir, 
who cau feel respect for the sacred tie of paternal 
affection, even in a foreigner. Sir, in 1840 the 
legislature of this state passed a bill which pro- 
vided that the alien fathers of children born in this 
state, of American mothers, should not be subject 
to the control of their father in case he desired 
to return to his native country. William H. 
Seward had not only the courage, but the justice 
and benevolence, to veto so atrocious a bill — a bill 
violating every sentimentof humanity and justice; 
but it found in William H. Seward a stem 
Republican Governor, capable and willing to do 
right, and he did it. I know, sir, he is charged 
with advising his fellow countrymen to disobey 
the laws of the land ; but I repel the charge as a 
base slander upon his character, and I defy his 
enemies to produce the proof. Sir, I believe 
William H. Seward to be such a representative ; 
and although New-York has other statesmen for 
whom I could vote with pleasure, yet if he is a 
caudidate, there is no man alive for whom I can 
vote with as much confidence and pleasure as 
for him. 

But allow me, sir, to inquire, for one moment, 
who is the representative of this new political 
power in this state? Why, sir, Mr. Ullmann; 
and who is he ? He, sir, is the Mr. Ullmann who 
went to the Syracuse convention, and there, on 
his bended knees, implored of the Whig conven- 
tion the nomination for Governor of this great 
State ! and when he failed to secure the conside- 
ration he claimed, what does he do? Why, sir, 
he forthwith accepts the nomination from a class 
of men banded together under the name of 
"Know Nothing," ready and willing to turn his 
fratricidal hand against those from whom, but 
two short weeks before, he asked for and was 
willing to take the nomination and claim their 
support for Governor. This, sir, is the professed 
leader of this party who stand ready to trample 
upon the most sacred rights secured to American 
citizens by the constitution and laws of our 
country. 

Now, sir, in this state of things, I am curious to 
see, or hear, or know, who this " American" party 
mean to propose for United States Senator. Let 
us hear his name, that we may know for whom 
our votes will be solicited for that high office; or, 
is it intended to keep his name secret from the 
public, that they cannot have an opportunity to 
learn and canvass his claims and pretensions? 

But, Mr. Speaker, not having prepared myself 
to speak upon this resolution, I will yield the floor 
for those who are ready and wish to be heard. 



SPEECH OF MR. A. W. HULL. 



FRIDAY, February 2, 1855. 
Mr. HULL said—Mr. Speaker: There has been 
a great deal said, during the discussion of this 
question, , about the Roman Catholic religion. 
But I apprehend that the fact that there are Ro- 
man Catholics in this country and a Pope at 
Rome, has very little to do with the question 
under consideration But it is nevertheless drag- 
ged in here, as if this House were entrusted with 



the duty of settling creeds and writing cate- 
chisms. And, in connection with this, we hear 
a great deal about Americanism. That those pro- 
fessing a love for American principles — a love 
superior to all others — should consider it a part 
of their duty and mission to villify and abuse all 
who are in favor of the return of William H. 
Seward to the Senate of the United States, is pas- 
sing strange. I, sir, deny that that exclusive class 



17 



of men "have all the Americanism in this House. 
There is probably not a man on the floor of the 
H use who is not as strongly attached to America, 
and the pure principles of elevated Americanism, 
as they are or can be It is not hatred of Ameri- 
can principles which induces gentlemen to vote 
for William H. Seward. No such feeling has 
been exhibited ; none exists. I am an American, 
and will go as far and do as much as any man to 
save America from foreign aggression or foreign 
influence. It is not to American principles that 1 
object; but to the modus operandi employed to 
promote them To promote Americanism, in its 
highest and noblest sense, it is not necessary that 
we should sink our personal identity and self re- 
spect. It is not necessary that we should tram- 
mel ourselves with oaths and obligations to sub- 
mit to the dictation and behests of others. To 
those who approve of that mode of sustaining a 
principle, I accord all honesty of purpose, and I 
go with them cheerfully on all points which I deem 
right and really American. The method which 
they have adopted of accomplishing their purpose 
is what I object to. Shall we prescribe a man 
because he is too short or too long for our Pro- 
crustean bed ? 

What is the real character of the organization 
which appears to have banded itself together to 
achieve a particular end under the taking phrase 
of Americanism ? Does it not partake largely of 
the elements of that Jesuitism which is so loudly 
condemned? Sir, it is American Jesuitism, and 
nothing else. Baptise it by what name you please, 
it is still American Jesuitism. What is its practical 
effect ? We are not left in doubt upon this point. 
We see it developed before us — in this nineteenth 
century, and in this free land — and this American 
Jesuitism bears upon its front every ear-mark of its 
prototype of Rome. We see this new develop- 
ment of Jesuitism not only in this nineteenth cen- 
tury, but upon this floor. Am I asked how ? I 
will tell you. When a gentleman rises in his place 
to give utterance to his honest sentiments, and in 
his argument utters opinions which do not chime 
in with the views and objects of the leaders of the 
order, American Jesuitism starts up in the shape, 
perhaps, of the gentleman from Ontario (Mr. Lam- 
port) and taunts him with having taken an oath to 
pursue a different course from that which his con- 
science dictates. Is not this American Jesuitism ? 
Such is what we see. 

But. Mr. Chairman, this American Jesuitism is 
insolent, withal. Yesterday a gentlemen on this 
floor saw fit to give utterance to his views on a 
question of immediateconcernment, andduring the 
course of his remarks declared that he would allow 
no oath to interpose between himself and his con- 
science, and that no trammels, however imposed, 
should induce him to withhold his support from 
freedom and its noble champion. That gentle- 
man, for having given utterance to such noble 
sentiments, was sneered at by the gentleman from 
Westchester (Mr. Watekbury^s worthily wear- 
ing the name of little John. Not so do I look 
upon the character of that gentleman. On the 
contrary, as well from what he said so eloquently 
in regard to William H. Seward, as because of 
his fearless avowal of his own purpose, and the 
duty of every honorable man to break loose from 
trammels, unguardedly put on, which seek to 
bind the conscience, I look upon him as a big 
John. Look at him. He carries about with him 
the impress of an honest man. All the ambrosial 
fruits of integrity, patriotism and high resolve 



cluster upon his honest brow. Shall such a man 
be sneered at as a pigmy by a gentleman who 
has yet m;my lessons to learn in the school of life, 
if not of virtue, before he can stand on the same 
high level wiih this Littlejohn? Oh! desecrate 
not the name of American by associating it with 
a parly whose purposes seem as impracticable as 
its leaders are unwise. What but American Jesu- 
itism would flaunt before the eyes of an Ameri- 
can legislator an oath to bind his conscience in 
he discharge of his public duty ? 

Sir, we stand here to-day not merely as legis- 
lators, but as citizens of the great State of New- 
York — a state which has gone on in the highway 
of greatness and prosperity until it is now the 
brightest star in the galaxy of states. Who does 
not exult — whose heart does not expand — in call- 
ing himself a citizen of New- York? Who has, 
as much as any other man, aye, more, contributed 
to its greatness, honor and glory ? I answer — 
and the millions of our great state will respond 
with me — William H Seward. Without doing 
injustice to any man, living or dead, I say, with- 
out the fear of contradiction, no other man has 
done so much to promote the interests, welfare 
and permanent prosperity and glory of the f Em- 
pire State" as William H. Seward. If so, what 
shall we do with him ? Cast him off"? Have we 
no state pride left, no gratitude or self respect? 
Have we no desire to see the state ably repre- 
sented in the Senate of the United States ? Why 
should he be cast off? Has he, in any one duty, 
ever faltered or failed ? Has he not always, and 
heroically, proved true to his constituents and to 
freedom? Why, then, cast him oft*? Sir, there 
is no reason. Justice, honor, interest and free- 
dom forbid an act so suicidal. 

What, sir, would the North say if we should 
now turn our backs upon William H.Seward? 
How would the South exult if he should be de- 
feated ? The elections of last fall gave embodi- 
ment to the northern feeling. And when New- 
York's voice was heard, it sounded joyously, be- 
cause it gave promise of the return of the great 
champion of the North and of freedom to the 
Senate of the United States. Disappoint this 
hope, and all these victories will have lost their 
moral power. All will be counted as lost, if Mr. 
Seward is crushed. In no way, so effectually as 
by his election, can we prove to the South that 
the North is in earnest in its protest against the 
extension of slavery. Let not freedom be wound- 
ed in the house of her friends. 

Turn back for a moment, sir, to the battle of 
the giants, most of whom have gone from amongst 
us ; to those days when the gifted eon of Massa- 
chusetts was battling almost single-handed with 
the Haynes and the Calhouns of the South. He 
did not, it was thought, fight in vain. The Mis- 
souri compromise was wrested from the reluctant 
hands of slavery. By that compact, a large 
territory was secured for, and forever sacredly 
dedicated to, freedom. But, sir, that compromise 
has been abrogated, and the compact of freedom 
discarded as a thing of naught. And now, shall 
New-Yok sanction this outrage, by sacrificing the 
most heroic of the champions who resisted the 
treason ? Shall the North again yield to the dicta- 
tion and demands of the South ? There have been 
frequent compromises, but they always have been 
broken. Shall we still succumb, or, by returning 
William H. Seward in his present position, shall 
we not show to the South that the last link in the 
chain of subserviency has been broken? No other 



18 



man in New-York is so well qualified — I mean 
the man and his principles — to give embodiment 
to the sentiments of the people of" the state. He 
has had experience as a legislator, and he stands 
at this moment higher than any other man in the 
couucils of the nation. Even the South admire, 
while they fear him; they admire his powerful 
intellect, while they fear the effect of that in- 
tellect when directed against Southern aggression 
and injustice. 

What, sir, can be said against returning Mr. 
Seward to the Senate of the United States? j 
was amused by the remark of a gentleman, the 
other day, who said, speaking of Mr. Seward. 
" Oh, I like his speeches, and his acts, and his 
outward character well enough, but his motives 
are bad! " This is a species of pettifogging chican- 
ery, which does not become a decent opponent. 
Suppose a man should say of the author of " Napo- 
leon and his Marshals, 11 " Oh. I like the book well 
enough, the sentiments which it contains and the 
doctrines which it inculcates ; but I can't tolerate 
the motives of the author !" This would not be 
a just criticism of the book or of its author. If a 
man's speeches and acts are all right, how dare 
we say that his motives are bad ? Those who 
resort to such a mode of warfare show that they 
are pinned to the wall. 

Now, sir, one word about oaths — oaths to bind 



a man's conscience and acts as a representative. 
After the legislature had convened, many mem- 
bers were beset, day and night, to join a secret 
order. They were importuned, in season and 
out of season, to do so. Why they were so im- 
portuned did not then so clearly appear. But 
the history of the pnst few days reveds the pur- 
pose of these importunities. That purpose was 
to hold members in subjection ; so that, if they 
should dare to utter a word on the floor of this 
House in conflict with the wishes of the mana- 
gers of that order, some one of their subservient 
minions might throw his oath in his teeth to 
crush him. Was not this the design, sir, of the 
importunities of those gentlemen who, in the 
early part of the session, prowled about this 
House to entrap the uninitiated and unsuspecting? 
But what is an oath, taken unawares and in vio- 
lation of law, and which stands in the way of 
conscience and duty 7 That has no binding 
force which compels an American freeman to be 
a traitor to freedom and to his country. Disre- 
garding all such oaths, and spurning, as imperti- 
nence, all such attempts to dictate to the free 
representatives of a free people, I hope we may 
have the power to continue William H. Seward 
in the position which he now fills with so much 
honor to himself and credit to his country. 



SPEECH OF MR. S. B. COLE. 



Mr. S. B. COLE said — Mr. Speaker : I am not an 
indifferent spectator of the scene around me. A 
sympathy in common with many gentlemen on 
this floor has awakened in my own heart a most 
lively interest in the events that are transpiring. 
A crisis is approaching, such as has not occurred, 
and may not again occur in years, to test the 
firmness, the principle and patriotism of the le- 
gislature of the State of New-York. While great 
interests, present and prospective, are involved in 
the performance of a duty imposed upon us by a 
fundamental law of the state, as one who is 
called upon to participate in this work, I wish to 
know the right, and the right pursue. 

Sir, has it come to this, that the question of re- 
ligious toleration is to be mooted here ? Has it 
come to this, that an organization, professedly 
established to sustain American principles and to 
propagate American sentiments, has lost sight of 
its lofty purpose, and combined its forces to inter- 
fere with rights which no power on earth can 
abrogate, and which lie at the very basis of our 
institutions ? And must we bandy words about 
a right, the denial of which would be but a bur- 
lesque upon the principles of Americanism? Has 
it come to this, that a i'vee principle — the princi- 
ple of religious toleration — needs defenders in the 
legislative halls of the free State of New-York ? 
Has it, come to this, that there can be no Ameri- 
canism which is not made subservient to intoler- 
ance and to slavery ? Why, sir, if I was a subject 
of the Papal power-^rif I had my master at Rome 
—if I believed in the inquisition, and thought 
that the introduction of its principles could ev^r 
root out the Protestant religion in America — I 
would do what I could to establish an inquisition 
in this country. But, sir, I am not a subject of 
the Papal power, I do not believe in the inquisi- 



tion, nor do I desire the introduction of thumb" 
screws into these halls. I am a representative 
of a free constituency — a constituency imbued 
with the pure principles of American toleration 
— and, sir, as such, I scorn to admit dictation 
from any set of men, or to assume that religious 
toleration needs a defence. It rests upon an im- 
movable basis. It is a question settled. It is 
not involved in this discussion. It is not so much 
as named in this resolution, every word of which 
meets my hearty approval. 

Is there one here who will refuse to st stain, as 
his candidate for senator, a man who is in favor 
of freedom ? I, sir, stand upon the platform of 
freedom ? But I stand there as a Whig — not as 
a faetionist. I despise the term. Let factionists 
uproot the government of Spain, plot for the 
overthrow of the Papal throne, and scheme to 
subvert the powers of Europe; but do not talk 
to me of factions here. Parties exist, and parties 
must exist — associations of men who have com- 
mon views and common sympathies. So long as 
men differ in opinion, party lines must be drawn 
to give efficiency to those opinions. I have been 
a partizan to that extent. I sought to promote 
what was right, and this made me a Whig. But 
I am not known as a Seward man or as a Fill- 
more man or as any man's man. I have been 
and I still will be known as a Whig — as a con- 
servative Whig — not desiring to carry out the 
factious notions of any man or set of men ; but, 
in this crisis, to so act and vote as to give effect 
to the free principles which I cherish, and to do 
honor to the man whom I deem the truest rep- 
resentative and the ablest champion of those 
principles. 

But, sir, it is not merely as a Whig that I now 
feel called upon to sustain William H. Seward; 



19 



for 'we have other men, distinguished in the 
srate and national councils, whose devotion to 
Whig principles has been as deep, as pure, as 
fervent and as long as his — men whose talents 
and patriotism have won for them the admira- 
tion of millions — and men, too, whom the nation 
will delight to honor. But a principle is invol- 
ved in the action of this legislature which under- 
lies all safe political action in this country, and 
which is vital to our national existence. Cir- 
cumstances over which he could have no control, 
and for which he cannot be held responsible, left 
William H. Seward no choice but to declare in 
favor of free principles in the abstract as well as 
in the concrete. Conservatism itself then be- 
came oppression; and leaving its high and influ- 
ential ground, it condescended to array itself on 
the side of the oppressor, and attempt to make 
the bold and honest champion of freedom in 
the national councils a hissing and a bye-word. 
Which party can now appeal, with greatest show 
of reason, to our gratitude and claim our hearty 
suffrage — the friend and supporter of the fun- 
damental principle that "all men are created 
equal," or those that are now moving heaven 
and earth to secure his banishment? 

I am no fanatic — I am no enthusiast. Nor, on 
the other hand, am I opposed to consistent, ra- 
tional, though rapid progress. Let the visionary 
pursue his phantom. Let the bigot scowl upon 
all who cherish free principles, and, cherishing, 
dare maintain them. Let shuddering timidity 
hide itself through fear at the stern denunciations 
hurled against foul and oppressive measures that 
are resorted to to " crush out" human sympathies, 
and sever the bond of brotherhood that is now 
uniting the nations of the earth. They shall not 
hold me back from maintaining the inherent as 
well as sovereign right of all the people. 

But, sir, to return. Every artifice has been re- 
sorted to that could influence honorable as well 
as dishonorable men, to secure the defeat of Wil- 
liam EL Seward. Personal prejudice, political 
hate, sectional issues, and an appeal to that no- 
ble sentiment so thoroughly diffused in the po- 
litical atmosphere of this country — American 
spirit, pride and patriotism — a sentiment which, 
glowing and vivifying through all ranks and con- 
ditions in this country, is like the leaven to the 
lump, and salt to the earth, preserving us from 
contagion from abroad and from decay as home 
— have all been combined to pursue him a-< with 
a whip of scorpions, and Hunt him forever from 
the field of American politics. There are those 
who would Fill-more the cup of folly that has 
been pouring an explosive mixture into the 
scathing cauldron of American politics, and send- 
ing them all Se-ward. 

The words that declare the defeat of Governor 
Seward will form an inscription for the tablet of 
this nation's folly not only, but I fear for the 
monument that perpetuates the memory of its 
downfall. His rejection by this legislature will 
be declared, through the country, a triumph of 
oppression over freedom, and it will be such a 
triumph. 

Mr. Speaker, during the progress of this dis- 
cussion, we have heard strange and unaccounta- 
ble allusions made to secret oaths — as if any man, 
with sufficient capacity to be entrusted by an en- 
lightened constituency, would take an oath which 
would bind him above his oath to support the 
constitution of the state and the principles of 



freedom ! Sir, has it come to this, that free men 
will admit that one man, who happens to stand 
at the head of a Grand Council, may issue his 
edict, and by that act alone compel 130,000 men 
to bow the knee to -Baal and to lick the dust 
of slavery ! Yet this is the state of things said 
to exist in the State of New-York, which holds 
up proudly the banner of freedom. Sir, shall 
we be told that there are men sworn to abide 
the decision and obey the behests of a few men, 
who dare to assume the right to rule them as 
with a rod of iron ? I trample under my feet, 
and treat with scorn and contempt, all such dic- 
tation. I spit upon and defy it. 

It is said, also, that committees have been ap- 
pointed in these secret councils of these "Sons 
of America " to stand around the lobbies and 
doors of this Capitol, to shield the simple repre- 
sentatives of the people from dishonor! Was 
ever such intense care shown for the safety and 
political health of happy though frail mortality, 
outside of the nursery of the plaintive and puny 
suckling? Has it come to this, sir, in this free 
land, that a man dare not stand up in defence of 
human rights, without the permission of secret 
and self-constituted guardians? Has it come to 
this, that a man, honored by the suffrages of an in- 
telligent constituency, and supposed to partake 
of their intelligence and virtue, cannot be en- 
trusted with the discharge of his duties, unless 
aided by the advice and counsel of secret agent3, 
delegated by secret conclaves in his district? 

Mr. RHODES : Does the gentleman assert that 
there are such agents here ? 

Mr. COLE : I have said that I have been so in- 
formed. 1 do not know, from any knowledge of 
my own. I, however, take it for granted that it 
may be true, from the extraordinary efforts that 
have been made throughout the state to put down 
one man. The exertions of the American party 
seem to be no longer concentrated upon its prima- 
ry and professed objects. It seems to have with- 
drawn its forces from their assaults on the Papal 
power, to direct them against William H. Seward. 
I, sir, were I ambitious, would like to stand in 
the position of that great man — a man against 
whom the whole power of slaveocracy and its 
northern allies, with the 130,000 army of the 
American party, are directed. It is a proud po- 
sition to occupy — to be thus the target for the 
poisoned shafts of the concentrated hosts of op- 
pression. Whatever may be the character of 
the hunters, the game is noble. But he will yet 
baffle his pursuers. William H. Seward is not 
yet politically dead. He lives in the hearts of a 
free people, who can appreciate heroic virtue 
and the noble championship of freedom. His 
enemies may strike at him, but they cannot po- 
litically kill him. He is identified, in the minds 
of the people, with all that is attractive in prin- 
ciple and all that is glorious in the brightest 
pages of the history of the state. He is identified 
with our public works. He is, in its political 
history, what the Erie canal is in its commercial 
— the back-bone of its glory, and prosperity, and 
greatness. If you banish the one, abolish the 
other. I would just as soon expect that the Erie- 
canal would be " crushed out" by the represen- 
tatives of the people, as that Seward should be- 
called back from his noble work in the national 
congress. But neither the one nor the other 
will fall, but both will go on contributing to tha 
honor and the prosperity of the Empire State. 



20 



SPEECH OF MR. "W. GLEASON. 



Mr. GLEASON said— Mr. Speaker: I feel, sir, 
that it is a duty I owe to myself, as well as 
those whom I attempt to represent upon this floor, 
that I should give my views upon the resolution 
under consideration. And, sir, allow me to say 
that I cordially approve of the sentiment it con- 
tains, and would to God that the principle might 
be adopted not only in determining the great 
question as to the character and qualifications of 
the man whom this legislature 6hall select to 
represent the State of New-York in the Senate of 
the United. States, but that it might control the 
action of all future legislatures. 

Sir, the time has come when he who does not 
"cast off the bonds of party leaders" and vote 
for such men only for United States Senator, as 
" have shown themselves true to the interests of 
the state" and true to the interests of humanity, 
is fit only to be assoc ated with a Benedict Arnold 
and an Aaron Burr. Sir, the momentous ques- 
tions involved in the election of United Senator, 
make it the bounden duty of every member of 
this legislature to know that the man for whom 
he casts his vote, has shown, by his past life, not 
only that he is the exponent of the sentiments and 
principles of the People of the State of New-York, 
not only that he is a "friend to her public schools" 
and true to her interests and the interests of hu- 
man freedom, but that he has the ability and man- 
liness to defend them against the assaults of ene- 
mies and the treachery of pretended friends. 

Sir, the history of our national legislation for 
the past twenty years shows, that this country 
is approaching a crisis— a final contest between 
right and might — between freedom and the ina- 
lienable rights of man, as declared in our decla- 
ration of rights and slavery ; and no man can 
divine the final result. We have, sir, by our own 
timidity, placed ourselves in the humiliating posi- 
tion of slave-catchers for the south, and been 
taxed thousands of dollars to execute and sus- 
tain laws repugnant to our feelings and shocking 
to our moral sensibilities, for the benefit of the 
trafficer in human bodies and souls. All this, 
sir, has been yielded by the north, under the 
fatal mistake that by it we should conciliate their 
favor and good will, and " save the union " Sir, 
if the salvation of the union requires and de- 
pends upon the sacrifice of our rights and of 
human freedom, it is not worth saving. And, 
sir, if our senators and representatives in con- 
gress had been men of the character contem- 
plated by this resolution, no such cloud of dark- 
ness would obscure the greatness and glory of 
our free institutions; — no such sad spectacle 
would have been exhibited. 

But, sir, this is not all. Where is our American 
I siem lor the protection of domestic industry at 
the north — with so vast an expanse of territory — 
with all the elements of national wealth at our 
command, why are our manufactories closed ? 
Why are we importing the manufactui'ed materi- 
als for our railroads, when our mountains groan 
under the weight of the materials for its pro- 
duction ? Why the want of employment, and 
the distress that pervades every class of society, j 
and the depressed state of the value of almost j 
every description of the whole mass of the prop- ! 
erty of the nation? Why the panic and cry of. 
distress that surrounds us 1 Sir, it is because the ' 



interests' of the south demand it, and our senators 
and representatives in congress yielded to " save 
the Union." Oh! how often the "Union" has 
been " saved !" How often we have been duped 
by our " dough- faced" members of congress, 
with the pretence that they were compelled to 
yield their convictions of right to "save the Unioj,.'' 

But, sir, it was reserved for the last session of 
congress — dough-faced northern members, with 
shame be it spoken — to •' save the Union " with 
a vengeance! — to perpetrate the last crowning 
act of infamy — to break down all barriers to the 
onward march of the infamous traffic in God's 
rational creatures — to desecrate the soil of free- 
dom with the curse of human slavery. 

How can we appreciate the grandeur and glory 
of this Union when such sacrifices are required to 
save it! But, sir, through all this dark period in 
the history of our country, one Northern man at 
least, has shown, by his past acts and speeches, 
that he is true to the interests of the state aud the 
whole country, and the cause of human freedom. 
That man is William H. Seward. 

But, sir, we are told by these gentlemen, who 
follow the lead and obey the commands of " a 
Daniel come to judgment, " that though Wm. 
H. Seward has proved true to the interests of 
the state and the nation in the senate of the 
United States — and though he has been the great 
champion of right and freedom and the protec- 
tion of American interest, yet, that some time 
in the course of his life he has adopted a mis- 
taken policy, or advocated erroneous doctrines 
at home! Well, sir, it would be strange, indeed, 
if, in a long course of fearless and independent 
political action, some fault, or some pretext, 
which might be tortured into a fault, could not, 
with the aid of the powerful magnifying glass 
and the scrutinizing gaze of a " Daniel, " be 
found which, to the willing mind, might seem 
to cloud the purity of his motives. But where, 
sir, shall we go to find the man whose motives 
and conduct cannot be assailed with more show 
of justice than those of the great champion of 
truth and justice who now represents the State 
of New-York in the senate of the United States 1 
I do not mean, sir, to be understood that Wm. 
H. Seward is the only man in the State of 
New-York capable of representing us in the 
seuate of the United States ; but I do mean to 
express the opinion, that at this peculiar period, 
his great talent and experience — his firm and 
unyielding attachment to the principles we che- 
rish in common with the whole north — com- 
mend him to our consideration above all others. 

But we are told by the gentleman from Orange 
(Mr. Headley) that "Brutus stabbed Caesar, 
not because he did not love and admire the 
man, but because he was ambitious!" and we 
are asked to infer from vague and indefinite 
charges, that Wm. H Seward is an ambitious 
political trickster, and that it is our duty to 
stab him— not that we love him less, but our 
liberties more. " Oh ! liberty, what crimes are 
not perpetrated in thy name !" Though the 
gentleman from Orange talked loudly of blood and 
murder, it really seemed to me that his wrath 
required a"n extra amount of nursing to keep it 
warm. 

The gentleman told us in language of burning 



21 



eloquence, that no tyranny was so despotic and 
demoralizing, no bauds so strong, as party ties. 
Is the gentleman's so called American party desti- 
tute of all these bands and ties that characterize 
other parties in this country? Does any party in 
this state strengthen the bauds of political associa- 
tion by the addition of au oath ? And if so, does 
it come with a good grace from the gentleman to 
lecture his friends upon the demoralizing influ- 
ence of party ties 1 " Oh ! consistency, ihou art 
a jewel !" 

But, sir, we are told that War. H. Seward did 
violence to American principles and American in- 
terests by desiring to extend to children of for- 
eigners and Catholics the benefits of education ; 
that because, in the providence or God, it was 
not their good fortune to be born in this land of 
liberty, and because, in the exercise of their in- 
alienable rights, their parents believed and taught 
a different system of theology from those gentle- 
men, that therefore Mr. Seward was guilty of a 
moral sin in desiring to extend to them the means 
of becoming intelligent American citizens ! While, 
sir, I differ from the peculiar theology taught by the 
Catholic church as widely as any gentleman upon 
this floor, and while I am in favor of amending 
the naturalization laws so as to guard and protect 
our own rights from foreign influence, yet I can- 
not go to the extravagant and romantic length of 
depriving even foreigners of their just ^lud con- 
stitutional rights. 

But, sir, as my eloquent friend from New- York 
(Mr. Leigh) has scattered to the four winds all 
the various pretexts that have been vaguely 
hinted at by gentlemen upon this floor, I need uot 
pursue this branch of the subject further. 

One more suggestion and I have done. The 
gentleman from New-York (Mr. Pettt) and the 
gentleman • from Genesee (Mr. Stevens) com- 
plained bitterly that their confidence had been 
betrayed; that they have been duped into otter- 
ing a resolution for the benefit of a friend of their 
mortal foe ! Why was it those gentlemen were 
so willing to be caught 1 Was it not, sir, because 
they supposed it would subserve their own party 
purposes ; because they supposed the gentleman 
at whose suggestion it was ottered would pour 
forth a torrent of abuse against the man whom it 
is their sworn determination to crush ? Truly a 
marvelouscase of " misplaced confidence !" But, 
sir, this is not the first time in the history of men 
that gentlemen have "caught a Tartar." This is 
not the first time gentlemen, taken in their own 
snare, have been heard to cry out "a ghost! a 
ghost !" It is not the first time that mischievous 
and wicked deeds have returned to " plague their 
inventors." It is not the first time that time- 
serving, one-idea politicians have carried too 
much sail for their ballast; nor the first time 
men have spun a rope with which to hang them- 
selves. I may condole with, but I can hardly 
pity those unfortunate gentlemen. 

During the course of the remarks of the gen- 
tleman from New-York (Mr. Petty) this morning, 
he complained that his younger brothers once 
came home with passages in their books so blot- 
ted with ink, that they could not be read. This 
was certainly a grave offence, and one for which 
the careless little rascals should have received 
paternal chastisement. But I insist because those 
boys' books were so soiled, furnishes no argu- 
ment against the election of William H. Seward 
to the office of Senator of the United States. 

The same gentleman also assured us, patheti- 



cally, that his brother is unjustly imprisoned in 
France, and that Mr. Seward has not exerted 
his influence with the administration, over which 
he has such potent influence, to secure his libe- 
ration — intimating with a degree of bitterness 
which indicated much more malice than sense, 
that this coldness was the result of his per- 
sonal hostility ! It may be a matter of regret 
that that gentleman's brother is in prison, aud 
it may be a matter of injustice that he is not 
set at liberty ; but that he is not, is certainly 
no very strong argument against the propriety 
of returning William H. Seward to the United 
States Senate. 

The same gentleman also assured the House 
that an associated member, before his election, 
had to take his oath [Mr. Petty — pledge him- 
self] or pledge himself to oppose " a certain 
man." Remember, sir, it was a " certain man," 
not a principle, they are after. The great aim 
of modern Americanism is to "crush out a cer- 
tain man !" Yet the revelation has been made, 
frankly and " by authority " no doubt, that this — 
the crushing out of a <; certain man, "' and not 
the triumph of a great principle, is the purpose 
of those who assume to dictate, under their 
secret cloisters, to the freemen and the repre- 
sentatives of freemen, in this state. What a 

j sublime pursuit for a great American party! 

I I had entertained a better opinion of American- 
ism than this. It does not express the Ameri- 
canism which I hold to. But if that is its pur- 
pose — its great, leading, primary and controlling 
object — to crush out a "certain man/' then t 
want nothing to do with it. 

Sir, as has already been stated on this floor, I 
understand the course of the gentleman from 
New-York to be entirely in accordance with the 
courtesies aud custom of this and all other legis- 
lative bodies ; no matter, sir, what the character 
of the resolution may be, and no matter what 
sentiments may be advanced, or what arguments 
adduced to sustain it. There was not the slight- 
est impropriety in the course pursued by tho gen- 
tleman from New-York in procuring this resolu- 
tion to be ottered. It is not, I fancy, the want of 
courtesy or propriety iu the act itself, which calls 
forth these bitter complaints ; but that gentlemen 
find there are " blows to take as well as blows 
to give." If they committed suicide because the 
gentleman from New-York furnished them with 
rope, let the sin rest on their own heads ! 

Allow me. sir, to express my idea of the char- 
acter of the man we want for United States Sena- 
tor, and I have done. We want, first the practi- 
cal, tried and honest statesman — the statesman 
whose heart has been purified and whose life 
has been controlled by the love of humanity — 
the statesman whose purposes have been solem- 
nized and characterized by faith in the immorta- 
lity of eternal justice; whose sentiments are in 
accordance with the spirit of the age, and whose 
principles and actions will be sanctioned by fu- 
ture time, when the stale calumnies with which 
they may now be assailed will die and be for- 
gotten. Whatever others may do, this is the 
character of the man for whom I shall vote. 

But, sir, I have occupied too much of the time 
of this House, and will close by expressing the 
hope that this resolution will be unanimously 
adopted, and the belief that if we carry out the 
principle therein expressed, the interest of the 
state and nation will be safe, and the Union will 



22 



SPEECH OF MR. M. L. RICKERSOK 



SATURDAY Febrttaby 3, 1855. 
Mr. RICKERSON said— Mr. Speaker: I move 
to amend the resolution under discussion by strik- 
ing out the following words : " In the now dis- 
tracted state of parties." I know not what there 
is in this resolution that should so greatly excite 
the feelings of certain gentlemen on this floor. 
Indeed, as originally introduced by the gentle- 
man from New-York (Mr. Petty), it seems to 
have been entirely in accordance with his views, 
as well as those of his friends who act with him 
on the senatorial question. But the amendment 
of the gentleman from Montgomery (Mr. Hull) 
seems to have so changed the subject and scope 
of the resolution as to strike those gentlemen 
with consternation and alarm. Have the words 
"true to the cause of human freedom" such ter- 
rific significance? Has the jubilant sound of 
liberty become obnoxious to gentlemen's ears \ 
There was an ominous flutter — a strange uneasi- 
ness — a manifest trepidation — when this very 
suitable amendment was proposed. And why, I 
repeat, did gentlemen discover, looming up under 
fihis amendment, the spectre form of William H. 
Seward? Did it call up, to their perverted vis- 
ion, a Banquo's ghost that would not down at 
their bidding? Has the name of William H. 
Seward become so identified with "the cause of 
human freedom" that the consideration of the 
latter, of course, embraces the history of the for- 
mer ? It seems to me that the conduct of gen- 
tlemen concede such to be the fact. If so, that 
name is as dear to me as the cause is dear. I en- 
tirely agree with the mover of this resolution, 
that the man whom we select to represent us in 
the senate of the nation should be devoted to 
the advancement and prosperity of the state; 
such as a complete and judicious system of in- 
ternal improvements, fostering the manufactur- 
ing interests, extending the sphere of useful in- 
struction, the enactment of just and liberal laws, 
and / will add, " true to the cause of human 
freedom." 

William H. Seward has represented this state 
in the U. S Senate for six years, and what fault 
do his adversaries find with him in that distin 
guished capacity? I have yet to hear, fie has 
done honor to the state, seconded her interests, 
and when the great tidal wave of slavery came 
rolling up from the South to override the nation- 
al faith and wash out the ink of national com- 
pacts, he stood boldly up, the very Ajax of lib- 
erty, to stay its progress and save New-York 
from the stain of its murky waters. His position 
and views on all the great leading questions of 
the day are known by the humblest of his con- 
stituents, and I believe his action in the councils 
of the nation stands, to-day, approved by almost 
the entire of that constituency. Like his illus- 
trious prototype, the ever-memorable defender of 
freedom and the right of petition, John Quincy 
Adams, whose sacred ashes repose in his own 
ever-glorious Massachusetts, free from the oblo- 
quy that once was heaped upon him by the ene- 
mies of that exalted liberty which he so long and 
so eloquently labored to secure, his name has 
been defamed and vilified only to shine the 
brighter on the page of history when personal 



animosities shall be forgotten and the memory of 
his calumniators shall have perished. 

Sir, the question has sneeringly been asked, 
"Is there no other man in the gre;it State of New- 
York fit to represent us in the Senate of the 
United States besides Wm. H. Seward ?" I an- 
swer, directly, I know of none so suitable. There 
is no other man in the state that to-day holds 
the same relation to the citizens of the state, or 
to the nation, as William H. Seward. There is 
no other man that stands in the same position 
before this legislature. No other man with the 
same antecedents and surroundings, who can 
nearly fill his place. A refusal to return him 
would be a concession to the slave power that 
could not be countervailed by the election of any 
other individual. Conceding for the sake of the 
argument that there may be others of equal abil- 
ity and patriotism, and equally inimical to slave- 
ry extension, it does not answer the inquiry nor 
disturb the correctness of my position. 

William H. Seward is recognized throughout 
the whole country as the uncompromising oppo- 
nent of slavery extension. He is the great focal 
point where the bright rays of freedom are ig- 
niting the galling bands of slavery, and at which 
the whole South are gazing with intense anxiety 
as they fall. In him is eminently represented 
the free spirit of the North, and against him is 
directed the hatred of that free spirit by the 
South. Voluntarily committed to the repeal of 
the perfidious Nebraska bill, his defeat would be 
an approval by us of that abomination. 

Whence, then, this violent opposition to his re- 
turn? What is the great political sin of William 
H. Seward, which is to weigh down every other 
preeminent qualification — virtue, patriotism, abil- 
ity, fidelity, love of liberty, humanity ? 

It is said that he recommended that provision 
be made for the education of the children of for- 
eigners among us — and is this all ? This, the un- 
pardonable sin? 

" Think you that those eighteen on whom tlie 
Tower of Siloam fell, were sinners above all oth- 
ers who dwelt at Jerusalem ? I tell ye nay ; but 
except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish!" 

When and where was this great sin committed \ 
As Senator of the United States? No. Some 14 
years ago in the State of New-York. I regard this 
recommendation as a mistake, but not one so se- 
rious as to be beyond the pale of forgiveness, or 
so deep and damnable as to overshadow and de- 
stroy every title to public benefaction. In the 
spirit of enlarged liberality, and with a heart 
that yearned for universal education, he may 
have overstepped the proper bounds. But when 
we consider the alternative that presented itself 
to him, and which does in fact seem to be the 
practical one, namely, that the children of for- 
eigners must either be educated by the state, in 
schools free from prejudices arising from differ- 
ence of language or religion, or else remain in 
ignorance, which is the mother of vice, it is dif- 
ficult to determine which the true welfare of the 
state would point out as the proper course. 
There seems to be some force in such reasoning as 
this (which is his): "Since we have opened our 
country and all its fullness to the oppressed of 



23 



every nation, we should evince wisdom equal to 
6uch generosity, by qualifying their children for 
the high responsibilities of citizenship. 

Mr. Speaker, much has been said during the 
progress of this debate of the evils consequent up- 
on the conduct of parties in relation to foreigners 
and the foreign vote. I admit that the old par- 
ties have rendered themselves obnoxious to cen- 
sure in this respect; that tlu-re has been too great 
an anxiety to secure this vote ; and I am free to 
say that, in so far as this anxiety has led to im- 
proper acts on the part of these old parties, I am 
prepared to do as much as any other man to cor- 
rect it. But, sir, I deny that William H. Seward, 
or the Whig party, is more obnoxious than any 
other man or than any other party to the charge 
of truckling to this influence. I ascribe this 
anxiety to no man and no party in particular. I 
I know very well that the foreign vote in the 
past has constituted the balance of power in this 
state if not in this country, and I know as 
well where the majority of this vote has been or- 
dinarily cast. The specious name of 'Democ- 
racy" has won it over to its ranks — the name, 
not the principles of that party. The advocates 
of sound principles have deprecated this concen- 
tration of the foreign vote ; and, in their anxiety 
to give efficiency to those principles, is it either 
strange or criminal that parties have endeavored 
to secure that influence in favor of those princi- 
ples ? Where is the crime in fairly and legiti- 
mately endeavoring to acquire the power to se- 
cure beneficent results ? If it was wrong thus to 
seek the foreign vote, what party or what man 
has the right to "cast the first stone ?" And why 
are his enemies so hypocritically unjust as to 
brand William H. Seward as the only man guilty 
of this offence? All parties and all politicians 
have been guilty in this respect, more or less. It 
has led to political abuses, I admit, and it is prop- 
er that those abuses should be corrected. But 
this result will not be facilitated by withdraw- 
ing William H. Seward from the Senate of- the 
United States. 

Mr. Speaker, much has been said during the 
progress of this debate about the violation of 
oaths ; and the broad charge has been made that 
there were traitors on the floor of this house. 
Sir, who are these traitors? The men who have 
been surreptitiously drawn into an error — who 
have been imposed upon by designing, intriguing 
and dishonest politicians, and who have the hon- 
esty and frankness to acknowledge that error — or 
those who perist in it ? I have ever been taught 
to believe that there was high moral principle 
in the simple maxim, that a bad promise is " more 
honored in the breach than in the observance." 
It is a broad charge, that of " traitor." It in- 
volves everything dishonorable ; and I stand up 
here to vindicate the honor, the purity and the 
patriotism of the members of this House, who are 
thus wickedly and unjustly assailed. Whatever 
their errors may have been — whatever obliga- 
tion they may, from misrepresentation and mis- 
conception, have taken — however far they may 
have been led astray — when they took, at that 
desk, the oath to obey the constitution and to 
discharge their legislative duties to the best of 
their ability, the shackles imposed upon their 
minds and actions and consciences by any other 
obligation, il legally imposed and improperly as- 
sumed, fall off like the green withes from the 



limbs of the giant of old. I believe in the su- 
preme efficacy and binding force of that oath. It 
renders void every extra-judicial obligation ; and 
if I find that any other I may have taken stands 
between that constitutional oath and my duty 
and my conscience, I should feel myself justified 
in disregarding such obligation. I repeat, when 
I swore at that desk, on the Book of God, to dis- 
charge my duty, as a member of this Assembly, 
to the best of my ability, I swore to regard every 
other oath but as a rope of sand which should 
come in conflict with that obligation. 

But, sir, I beg to differ with gentlemen in re- 
gard to the character of the obligation which they 
say men have taken and are ready to violate. I 
have never understood that the members of this 
secret organization take any oath which, when 
properly construed and understood, interfered 
with the duty of the citizen or the legislator. I 
had understood, sir, that that obligation left a man 
free to act in this particular at least : to be him- 
self the supreme judge of what is for the promo- 
tion of the American principle and what not, and 
no man has the right to act as interpreter for him. 
Those who assume differently, violate the Ameri- 
can principle, and render every member of the 
order as helpless and imbecile as they allege 
those are who are bound to take their interpre- 
tation of the Word of God from the head of the 
Romish church. I know, sir, there are would-be 
high priests in the order ; but, as I scorn to 
place my religious opinions in the keeping of any 
human interpreter, 60 I spuVn any and. every at- 
tempt to render me, as a citizen and as a legisla- 
tor, the puppet and slave of any self-constituted 
political vicegerent. 

The attempt is being made, there is reason to 
believe, by those who assume the interpretation 
of obligations alleged to have been taken by cer- 
tain members of this house, to use the American 
feeling to secure the defeat of William H. Seward. 
They go so far as to assert that hatred to him is 
the real test of friendship for Americanism. But 
I desire to say, sir, that in my opinion, his sup- 
port is not in antagonism to the true principles 
of Americanism. 1 deny the right to dictate to 
me whether I shall, as an American, support or 
oppose Mr. Seward. I am, as an American, un- 
der no obligation to oppose him ; but I am, as a 
lover of freedom and justice, bound to give him, 
who has proved himself the able and fearless 
champion of those principles, my vote. But, in 
this, every American is left free to exercise his 
own judgment. 

Mr. Speaker, I am an American, and the advo- 
cate of true American principles. I am proud 
of the name of American ; and I believe that, if 
the time has not already, it soon will come, when 
the declaration that "I am an American citizen," 
will prove as effective a shield against foreign in- 
justice and outrage, as, of old, did the exclama- 
tion "lama Roman citizen !" Even now there 
is a talismanic charm in the name. But I am 
surprised that this name, and the entire organi- 
zation which professes to be governed by the 
sentiments which the name implies, should be 
attempted to be brought to bear against one par- 
ticular man. I never understood, nor do I now 
believe, that that is its object. How are the 
members of that organization politically classifi- 
ed? Do they not stand where they stood before 
that organization received its birth? Those 



24 



who were " Woolly Heads" are, with bat few ex- 
ceptions, " Woolly Heads" still ; and those who 
were "Silver Grays," or " Hunkers," or "Barn- 
burners," are so still. I was at one time myself 
classed with the "Silver Grays;" I was profound- 
ly "national" in my views and feelings. But 
when the Nebraska iniquity was perpetrated — 
when the Missouri compromise was broken — and 
when slavery laid her bloody hand upon soil 
"forever" dedicated to freedom — my "Silver 
Gray ism" and semi-Doughface "nationality" 
sloughed off, and I was proud to rank myself with 
those who, as I now do, deemed freedom, not 
slavery, national — and justice and equality, 
and not punic faith and oppression, true con- 
servatism. I now stand with the great mass 
of the northern people — a position from which 
no secret dictation shall thrust me — opposed to 
the extension of slavery. Sir, is this great ques- 
tion of human freedom of so small moment that 
it is to be ignored at the bidding of any man or 
set of men? Are gentlemen, in their zeal for 
"Americanism," to forget their past predilections, 
and to succomb to slavery at the bidding of the 
self-constituted high priests of any order ? Must 
the sentiment of New-York, and her legislature 
and her people, all yield to the behests of a secret 
cabal? Shall New-York, to gratify unprinci- 
pled men, who seek to use the power which they 
have assiduously acquired, become a great giant 
Doughface? Shall we quietly allow the South 
to augment its power through the anti-republi- 
can and unjust principle of property represen- 
tation? Already the South has, by such a rep- 
resentation, a power in congress equal to two- 
thirds of the entire representation of this state. 
If this principle is to be extended — if slaves, 
which are recognized only as property, .are to be 
continued as the basis of representation, why 
should not the people of the north present their 
property — their horses, hogs and shanghais — as 
the basis of representation also? With them, 
slaves are recognized as the same kind of prop- 
erty as with us are these. So far as the princi- 
ple is recognized in the constitution, we cannot 
interfere with it j but we can protest against and 
labor to prevent its extension. This question of 
freedom stands preeminently prominent, and it 
is to be affected by our vote for a Senator of the 
United States. 

Mr. Speaker, it seems to be implied, in the po- 
sition taken by some gentlemen, that by returning 
Mr. Seward to the senate we will be conferring 
a great favor upon him — be doing him a great 
personal benefit, and be conferring upon him a 
great boon, from which he will reap great pecu- 
niary advantage. But this is a great mistake. 
If he shall be returned, it will not add a single 
laurel to his fame. That rests upon a broader 
and deeper basis than office. So, sir, it is not on 
his account that I am anxious to see him returned ; 
but on account of the honor of the state and of 
the principles of freedom and justice. New-York, 
as the leading state in the confederacy, requires 
such a representative — aman capable of defend- 
ing her rights and of representing the free senti- 
ment of her people. I shall support him because 
he represents, in a more eminent degree than any 
other man in the state, the totality of principles 
which 1 believe to be right and in which 1 con- 
cur. I would as cheerfully support a man classed 
as a Democrat, as I now support William H Sew- 



ard, if that Democrat represented, more nearly 
than he does, my principles. But I shall vote for 
William H. Seward, not merely because he repre- 
sents my sentiments more nearly and more fully 
than any other man, but because I believe he 
more nearly and more fully represents the prin- 
ciples of my constituents than any other man in 
the state. I know there is a diversity of opinion 
among them — some are for and some against 
him — and some for some one else. But I believe, 
if their wishes could be accurately ascertained, 
that he would obtain the great majority of the 
suffrages of my constituents. 

Mr. Speaker, among the crimes committed, by 
Mr. Seward, is classed his pertinacious defence 
of a poor, ignorant, idiotic negro, charged with 
murder. For that act of humanity, he has been 
grossly and persistently vilified and abused. But 
the result of that case demonstrated the idiocy 
of the poor creature, for defending whom his no- 
ble advocate endured unsparing reproach and 
contumely. 

I remember, also, the part he took in the Vir- 
ginia controversy. That controversy was trans- 
piring when I first came upon the political stage, 
when I first began to hear and to think of poli- 
tics. I remember very well, also, how he was 
assailed by his enemies at home for the humane, 
patriotic and incontestible positions which he 
assumed, and how heartily I rejoiced when our 
noble chief magistrate was sustained by the high- 
est court known to the constitution. 

Sir, there is, beside assaulta upon Mr. Seward, 
a base calumny uttered against the members of 
this House — a charge which I hurl back to the 
teeth of those making it. It is said that corrup- 
tion has been successfully attempted upon mem- 
bers — or language equivalent to such a charge ; 
that bargains have been entered into ; that votes 
have been bought and sold ; and combinations 
formed between the friends of William H. Sew- 
ard and of a Maine Law. So far as my observa- 
tion and knowledge go, this charge is wholly 
false and unfounded. The first suggestion, which 
could be tortured into anything of the kind, has 
yet to be made to me. No man has dared to ap- 
proach me with any such proposition. The 
cause of temperance is too high and too holy to 
be thus trafficked in — the character of a repre- 
sentative is too sacred to be thus tampered 
with. The vote to be cast on Tuesday next in- 
volves too many responsibilities to be traded 
away for a vote for any other matter. I cannot 
believe that there is an honorable gentleman on 
this floor corrupt enough for this. There is no 
conection between these objects — between the 
election of a senator and the passage of a Maine 
Law. I say, sir, let temperance stand now as it 
has stood hitherto, upon its own merits. If it 
cannot so stand, let it fall? The vote given for 
or against Mr. Seward, let it be given in honesty 
or patriotism , and that member should be ex- 
pelled from this House who should enter into an 
arrangement, express or implied, for an exchange 
of votes on this or on any other important sub- 
ject. It would not only be perjury, but treason, 
to the constitution and to the state. 

" Influences" have been spoken of — lobby in- 
fluences, I suppose — in favor of Mr. Seward. 
And it is implied that members have allowed 
themselves to be controlled or dictated to by 
those influences. Sir, I stand here to declare 



25 



that the first question has not been asked me in 
regard to the vote I intended to cast on this sub- 
ject, by any Sewaud man, that I believed was 
asked with the slightest design to influence that 
vote. No approaches have been made to me of 
this character. "What may have been the expe- 
rience of others I cannot say. But, sir, there 
have been outside, lobby " influences" brought to 
bear against William H. Seward — influences, 
persevering, secret and powerful. L sir, have 
been thus approached, although I to day hold 
myself as no member of any secret order. Yes, 
sir, communications have been sent to me.couched 
in offensive language, and insultingly dictatorial 
— in so many words "directing" me to "vote 
against "William H. Seward." I have now the 
proof in my pocket. [Cries of " Read," " read."] 

Mr. WYGANT (excited): Haven't you been read 
out of the order ? 

Mr. RICKERSON : I have been read out of no 
order, but I have withdrawn from an organiza- 
tion which dared to dictate to me. [Hisses, in 
several directions.] 

The SPEAKER : It is unusual and highly un- 
becoming in members of this House to give ex- 
pression to their disapprobation of the remarks 
of a fellow member, by hissing. Nothing could 
be more indecorous or improper ; and if any such 
demonstration shall be repeated outside the bar 
of the House, I shall direct the lobbies to be 
cleared. 

Mr. RICKERSON : I repeat, sir, that so far as 
I have the ability to do so, I have withdrawn 
from all connection with an order whose mem- 
bers have attempted to improperly interfere with 
my rights as a member of this body and with 
the oath which I took at that desk — so far, at 



least, as I had the ability to do so, and I always 
considered that I had that ability. 

Mr. RHODES: After election, I suppose. 

Mr. RICKERSON : The gentleman retorts, " af- 
ter election." I withdrew when I saw fit to do 
so — when I ascertained that there were obliga- 
tions imposed upon me which would trammel me 
in the discharge of the duties which I assumed 
when I took upon myself my constitutional oath 
of office, and which were inconsistent with that 
oath. Then it was, sir, that I withdrew : — I will 
not say inconsistent with my oath here, but 
which others might think inconsistent with that 
oath. As I said before, that is a matter for every 
man to judge of for himself, what his obligation 
binds him to do, and what not ; and I say that 
no man has a right to say to me that that obli- 
gation implies so and so. Every one must judge 
for himself. 

VOICE— When did you join ? 

Mr. RICKERSON: "When did I join?" I 
affirm, Mr. Speaker, that I joined this organiza- 
tion without being made acquainted with the 
first principles which it advocated — or without 
being told the first syllable of the obligation 
which I was to assume. No disclosure, either of 
the principles of the organization or of the obli- 
gations which its members assumed, was made to 
me. And the gentleman knows very well how, 
step by step, we go, and how difficult, after get- 
ting in a certain position, it is to back out. 

Mr. Speaker, I shall not longer occupy the 
time of this House. I belive myself entirely jus- 
tified in the course I have taken. I shall en- 
deavor to discharge my duty on this, as on all 
other subjects, according to the dictates of my 
judgment and conscience — unawed, unseduced 
and unterrified. 



MR. C. C. LEIGH'S REPLY TO INSTRUCTIONS 

SENT HIM BY CERTAIN SECRET SOCIETIES IN THE CITY OF NEW-YORK. 



Mr. LEIGH rose to a question of privilege, 
and said : 

Mr. Speaker : I have been sent here by my 
constituents to serve them in a legislative capa- 
city. I came here an independent man, simply 
desiring to do my duty, honestly and fearlessly. 
In carrying out this purpose, I have deemed it 
my duty to declare myself the friend of the 
Maine Law and of Wm. H Seward. For hav- 
ing done so — particularly for having avowed my 
purpose to vote for Mr. Seward as Senator of the 
United States — this House has been foully and 
grossly insulted in the person who now addresses 
you. I, this morning, received several commu- 
nications from my district, of an extra-officious 
and insulting character, designed for the infamous 
purpose of influencing my action as member of 
this House. I shall read these communications. 
The first is dated " Hancock Chapter" — 

Mr. PECK: I call the gentleman to order; 
and my point of order is, that if the communica- 
tions are private, he has no right to read them. 

Mr. LEIGH: The communications which I 
shall read are not of a private character, but re- 
late to public duties. The first is as follows : 



Hancock Chapter, No. 14, 0. TJ. A., "» 
Tuesday Evening, Jan. 30, 1855. J 
Sir— "We herewith transmit to you the following resolu- 
tion, passed unanimously this evening by Hancock Chap- 
ter: 

Resolved, That Hancock Chapter, through its officers, 
request the Hon. C. C. Leigh to use his influence and vote 
against the reelection of Wm. H. Seward as United States 
Senator, we, as Americans, denouncing his political course ; 
and we regret to find that the Hon. C. C. Leigh has not the 
manliness and sufficient principle lo act against the said 
Wm. H.Seward without receiving petitions from his Bro- 
ther Americans. 

Which is respectfully submitted, 

[seal.] GEO. F. JUNE, C. of C. 

JOHN J. LYNCH, C. C. 

Geo. A. Thitchener, Sachem. 

John J. Lynch ! An appropriate cognomen to 
be attached to such a missile. But. sir, I have 
also another communication. It is asfollows : 

New-York, January 16, 1855. 
Dear Sir— At a regular meeting of the Jasper Chapter 
No. 35, 0. U. A., held Monday evening, 15th inst , the un- 
dersigned were appointed a committee of three to draft a 
preamble and resolutions to you, expressive of their feel- 
ings on the election of a U. S. Senator. 



26 



Herewith we beg to inclose the said preamble and reso- 
lutions, and solicit from you an early reply. 
Fraternally and truly yours, 

F C. WAGNER, ) 

C. B. H A WLE 7, >• Committee. 

GEORGE A. WARDELL, ) 

To Hon. C. C. Leigh, Albany, N. Y. 

Whereas, The present legislature in session at Albany 
will elect a United States Senator for the coming six years ; 
and . 

Whereas, The course of Wm H. Seward has been Anti- 
American and opposed to the objects of our organization ; 
and 

Whereas, The defeat of Wm. II. Seward will be a triumph 
of the American party over Romanism and Fanaticism : 
Therefore, be it 

Resolved, That this Chapter does urge Brother C. C. 
Leisrh to use his influence and to vote against the reelection 
of Wm. II. Seward to the United States Senate. 

Resolved, That Bro. Van Arsdale be appointed a commit- 
tee of one to proceed to Albany and deliver this preamble, 
&c, to Bro. C. C. Leigh in person 

F.' C. WAGNER, ) 

G B. II A WLE Y, V Committee. 

GEORGE A. WARDELL, ) 

The third communication reads thus : 

New- York, Feb. 2d, 1855. 
Dr. Sir— At a regular meeting of Columbia Chapter, No. 
7, O. IT. A., held Thursday evening, 1st inst., the undersign- 
ed were appointed a committee of three to draft a pream- 
ble and resolutions to you, expressive of their feelings on 
the election of a U. 8. Senator. 

Herewith we beg to inclose said preamble and resolu- 
tions and solicit from you an early reply. 
Fraternally and truly yours, 

HENRY JAY, ) 

D H. STILES, y Committee. 

ALFRED T. STEVENS, ) 

[seal.] WM. J. DWIRE, Sachem, pro. tern. 

HENRY DURAND, C. of the C 
To Hon. C. C. Leigh, Albany, N. Y. 

Whereas, The present legislature in session at Albany 
will elect a United States Senator for the coming six years ; 
and 

Whereas, The course of Wm. H. Seward has been Anti- 
American and opposed to the objects of our organization ; 
and 

Whereas, The defeat of Wm. H. Seward will be a triumph 
of the American party over Romanism and Fanatacism : 
Therefore, be it 

Resolved, That this Chapter does urge Bro. C. C. L^igh 
to use his influence and vote against the reelection of Wm. 
H. Seward to the United States Senate. 

[Signed] HENRY JAY, ) 

ALFREDT. STEVENS, V Committee. 
D. H. STILES, ) 

Mr. RHODES: I wish to ask the gentleman 
one question. Having risen to a question oi 
privilege, I. want to know upon what authority 
that question is based ? Are the communications 
which he has read attested ? 

Mr. LEIGH : Sir, I can answer the gentleman; 
they are attested; and, since the gentleman from 
Kings has seen fit to ask the question, I wish 
those who hear me, and particularly the report- 
ers, to notice the answer. The first communica- 
tion which I read is attested by the seal of the 
Chapter : " Hancock Chapter, No. 140," encircling 
a scroll, upon which is inscribed "Independence." 
Was ever a sacred seal so shamefully prostitutedas 
this ? Was the sacred term " Independence" ever 
before brought to such base uses? The other is 
attested also with the seal of theChapter: "Colum- 
bia, No. 7," with an eagle resting upon a shield 
in the centre of the circle ! Yes, sir, the name of 
11 Columbia" is thus desecrated, and the Ameri- 
can Eagle is dishonored as the emblem of an 
organization whose members have the impudence 
and audacity to seek to control, by intimidations 
and threats, the representative of a free constitu- 



ency. Sir, the dastards have mistaken their man. 
They will fail in their nefarious purpose. No 
human power can control my actions, or prevent 
me from following where conscience and duty- 
lead. 

Mr. PETTY : Irise to a point of order. The 
communications readonly request the gentleman 
to do so and so. I do not, therefore, see that the 
House has been insulted in his person. 

The SPEAKER: The gentlemau has the right 
to decide for himself what he shall consider as 
involving a question of piivilege. 

Mr. LEIGH : I do not know how, properly, to 
characterize a proceeding like this. 

Mr. RHODES : The gentleman has not given 
us the attestation on the third communication. 

Mr. LEIGH: I really hope, sir, that I may be 
permitted to proceed without being thus cate- 
chized. I repeat, sir, that ldo not know what to 
think of. or how properly to characterize, these 
communications. I came here, and stand before 
you, the representative of 50,000 free men. I do 
not come here as the representative of a band of 
midnight conspirators, who assemble in the dark 
hour (in secret halls, barred and bolted and sen- 
tineled), when good men are at their family hearth, 
or engaged in pursuits of honest industry or 
works of benevolence and mercy. I came here, 
sir, not to represent such men — who desecrate 
the name of American — but to discharge my duty, 
openly and fearlessly, in accordance with my best 
judgment aud ability, so as to promote the inter- 
ests of the state and of the people. This is the 
duty of an American legislator; and Americanism 
which looks for such conduct in their legislators 
I can understand and honor. But I know of no 
such Americanism as that which seeks to dictate 
and trammel a representative. I spurn it. 
True Americanism is the contrary of what is 
avowed by these men who claim to be, par ex- 
cellence, Americans. Am I, sir, not an American? 
Every drop of blood which courses through my 
veins is American ; and every pulsation of my 
heart throbs in harmony with the free principles 
which rest at the base of our free institutions. 
I am all over — head, heart and soul — in love with 
America — my own, my native land. I love her 
green hills and her pleasant valleys. I love her 
noble rivers, and her broad and verdant plains. 
I love her towering mountains and clear lakes. 
There is nothing within her broad and sacred do- 
main, except slavery and rum, that I do not ad- 
mire and love. And am I — in my own native 
country — in the land of my birth and affections — 
which holds all that I hold dear on earth — shall 
I be told by such men as have addressed me — 
men ! no, I take back the appellation — traitors to 
their country ; am I to be told by these American 
Jesuits that I shall not, but at the hazard of their 
displeasure and their proscription, answer my 
conscience and my God as a legislator? Shall I 
be told that Americau liberty requires this sacri- 
fice ? " Oh liberty ! how many crimes are com- 
mitted in thy dear name!" And Amercanism! 
what villainies are being attempted by thy dege- 
nerate children ! Sir, was not Connecticut the 
birth place of Benedict Arnold ? From the tap- 
estry that adorns these walls, the immortal Fa- 
ther of his Country frowns with indignation upon 
such renegades from Freedom! 

In w-hat I say, Mr. Speaker, I do not wish to 
be understood as denouncing all who belong to 
this order. If I did so, I should denounce my- 
self; and certainly a man should respect himself. 



27 



know very many good citizens — some of the 
very best— who are attached to that organiza- 
tion ; and it was under the influence of some of 
these my warm personal friends that, in an un- 
guarded moment, I connected myself with the 
order. But, as an atonement, I here, in this Capi- 
tol, and before the free representatives of a free 
people, and in the sight of Heaven, under the 
American flag that now proudly waves over us, 
and in the presence of the great Washington, 
whose memory I revere, before whose portrait 
I now stand, say that, in doing so, I did a dis- 
honorable act, of which I most heartily repent, 
and ask my country to forgive me; and I here, 
before Heaven and my countrymen, declare my- 
self absolved from ali connection with and alle- 
giance to the fraternity. 

I have, Mr. Speaker, written a reply to these 
wou id-be keepers of my conscience. It is as 
follows — 

Mr. RHODES: I call the gentleman to order. 
My point is, that the gentleman's reply cannot 
be read without the consent of the House. 

The SPEAKER: Thati i the rule. 

Mr. BOYNTON : I move, then, that the gen 
tlsman may be permitted to read. 

Mr. PETTY: Can he be permitted to read with- 
out the unanimous consent of the House ? 

The SPEAKER : It requires but a majority of 
the House. 

Mr. MAGUIRE : I trust the consent will be 
given ; for " the work goes bravely on." 

Mr. LEIGH read his reply as follows : 

Brother Amee t oans : Your favor of the 16th ultimo, by 
the hands of my esteemed friend, Br. Van Arsdale, has 
been received and its contents carefully noted. You say 
there, in a preamble and resolution passed in your Chapter 
on the 16th, that 

" Whereas, The defeat of Wm. H. Seward will be a tri- 
umph of the American navty over Romanism and Fanati- 
cism : be it 

" Resolved, That this Chapter does urge Br. C. C. Leigh 
to use his influence and to vote against the reelection of 
Wm. IT. Seward to ibe United States Senate." 

You will remember that I have been only once in your 
Chapter, and that was on the night of joining the order ; 
I am therefore not entirely acquainted with your designs. I 
supposed your main object was to carry out the great Ameri- 
can principle of Jefferson, that all men were created with 
certain inalienable rights: among them was life, liberty and 
the pursuit of happiness. I consider Mr. Seward the em- 
bodiment of this great American idea. The slaveholders at 
the South consider him so, and on this account alone they 
desire his politica annihilation. I cannot consent to this, 
much Ipss to be urged to assist and take part in the horrid 
sacrifice. 

When your order, by a formal vote, sent by the hand of a 
special messenger, requires a Brother to do such a deed, all 
I have to say is, I was mistaken in your designs, and wish 
to withdraw my name as a member of the order. In doing 
so. I hope the personal friendship and good feeling that ex- 
ist between us may continue, for I can see no reason why 
political opponents'may not be personal friends. 

I remain yours, very resp'y* CHS. C. LEIGH. 

To Messrs. F. C. Wagner, C. B. Hawlet, George A. War- 
dell, Committee of Jasper Chapter, No 8P, 0. TJ. A 

Assembly Chamber, Feb. 3, '65. 

THURSDAY, Feb. 8, 1855. 

Mr. LEIGH rose to a question of privilege and 
said : 

I find in the Herald of day before yesterday 
a remark which, with your permission, I wii! 
read. I would have paid no attention to it, if 
others had not done so. But they having done 
so, it is imperative upon me to do the same, oth- 
erwise I may be suspected of acquiescing in its 
truth. The remark is this : 



A majority of the Whigs elected to the House of Assem- 
bly went to Albany pledged against his election. They vol- 
untarily made these pledges, previous and during the can- 
vass. Had they not done so, not a sou! of them would now 
be engaged in the conspiracy lo elect Mr. Seward. 

We lure insert the names of, those members of the House 
who, it is asserted, have violated their pledges, and went 
into caucus on Thursday night last and voted lor Seward. 
They are — 

Here follows the list, included in which I find 
my name. The article proceeds to say : 

Header, look at this picture, nere we have presented 
the names of thirty-seven men who have stood before their 
fellow-citizeris, and voluntarily declared, most emphatically 
pledged by their words, and some, it is said, by their oaths, 
that under no circumstances would they aid in any man- 
ner, either by word, vote, or other deed, or be instrumental, 
in returning Seward to the Senate. Not a single one of 
them would now be intrusted with the power they possess 
had their constituents been aware of their true character. 

Assertions like these have been made so often 
and in such a variety of shapes, and come up in 
so many forms, and are so unequivocally reitera- 
ted, that it is proper for me to assert here, as I 
do in the strongest language lean command, that 
until the day before I requested my excellent 
friend from Genesee (Mr. Stevens) to introduce 
the resolution which was subsequently introduced 
by my colleague (Mr- Petty), I never said to any 
human being whom [ should vote for for senator; 
and then I only mentioned the fact to two persons 
in this House. I never made any pledge other 
than that; and that was no pledge — it was sim- 
ply an assertion. In my district, the Kuow 
Nothings nominated a candidate against me, be- 
cause they could riot trust me ; and their candi- 
date came very near defeating me. How, then, 
can these men now say that I pledged myself 
against Mr. Seward ? I hope the House will 
pardon me one moment, while I call attention 
to the charge of a violation of oaths. And here 
allow me to say that I made no oaths anywhere 
touching the election of any candidates. I was 
but once in the council room, the night I joined 
the order ; most of the time that evening was 
taken up with receiving members, and politica 
were barely alluded to ; but I saw enough to con- 
vince me it was no place for an honest man, and 
I left them forever. But the reverend gentleman 
from Orange (Mr. Headley), the high priest of 
the order, rose in his place on this floor the other 
day and piously exclaimed, Oaihs taken on earth 
were recorded in heaven ; and the Register of this 
city, the organ of the order, has echoed the 
sound and made the state ring with this appeal; 
they have taken the position that an oath taken, no 
matter how, by whom administered, or when, must 
be kept, and in proof of which they have with 
great pomp quoted as their authority the im- 
mortal Shakspeare, in the following words: 

"An oath ! an oath! I have an oath in heaven. 
Shall I lay perjury to my soul?" 

Sir, Shakspeare was not only the greatest 
poet of any age, but a great delienator of char- 
acter, and his authority I pay great deference to. 
I have a boy, one only son, and if it shall please 
kind Heaven to spare the youth, one of the first 
lessons I will teach him is to acquaint himself 
with the Bible and the writings of Shakspeare, 
believing as I do that a thorough knowledge of 
these two books will make him a wise and a 
great man. I regret I have not made myself 
more familiar with the works of the immortal 
bard ; but I have read him sufficient to know that 
Shylock, who uttered the above sentence, was 
one of the most demoniacal characters and infa- 
mous wretches the poet has delineated ; and yet, 



28 



if I understand the Know Nothing organ and 
their high priest, they point out this villain and 
quote his words as the beau ideal of a Know 
Nothing. 

Mr. Speaker, you will recollect that the no- 
ble merchant of Venice, Antonio, loaned of the 
Jew. Shylock, 3,000 ducats, and in the event of his 
not paying the debt as nominated in the bond, 
he was to forfeit a pound of flesh nearest the 
merchant's heart. When he found that Antonio's 
fortunes were wrecked, he said to his brother 
Tubal, an old Jew, a brother Know-Nothing : 

" Nay, that's true, that's very true ; go, Tubal, fee me an 
officer, bespeak him a fortnight before ; I will have the 
heart of him, if he forfeit ; for were he out of Venice, I can 
make what merchandise I will ; go, go. Tubal, and meet 
me at our synagogue ; go, good Tubal ; at our synagogue, 
Tubal." 

When this Jew (who is held up as a Know- 
Nothing by the friends of the order) on coming 
into court to demand the forfeiture of his 
bond — panting for the blood of Antonio, burn- 



ing with rage, and anxious to imbrue his hands 
in Christian blood — is accosted by the friend of 
Antonio, thui: 

Bassanio.— "Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly ?" 

ShylOClC*— " TV* O.nt thA forfeiture. 4Wvm *\*nt KmO. — .-.« 

there"— 



'To cut the forfeiture from that bankrupt 



with the essence of the evil one he says, ad- 
dressing the judge : 

"Ah! 'his heart!' 

So says the bond; does it not, noble judge? 

• Nearest his heart,' these are the very words." 

At this moment, when the poet desired to put the 
finishing touch to this infamous character, he 
puts in his mouth the words so pompously quoted 
here and displayed in the Know-Nothing organs. 
Here, sir, you have the picture of an original 
Know-Nothing. if we can credit their organ, the 
Register, who has referred us to this Jew, saying, 
Behold the man. I* hope the gentleman will 
make the most of the character of their noble pro- 
totype. 



EEMAKKS OF MR, L. S. MAY. 



Mr. MAY, after the closing remarks of Mr. 
Leigh on the 3d, obtained the floor. He said he 
should not have said a word on this question but 
for a communication he had just received from 
home. It was well known that he was sent here 
without shackles on — that he was not in any wise 
trammeled — but that he was regarded as an in- 
dependent Whig, and was elected as such. As 
such, he should discharge his duties here, and 
without regard to dictation from home. The 
communication to which he referred was in these 
words : 

Almond, Feb'y 1, 1855. 
Hon. L. S. Mat: 

Dear Sir— At the last meeting of our order there was 
passed a unanimous vote, requesting you to vote and use 
your influence against the reelection of W. H. Sewakd for 
United States Senator. Our council now controls the vote 
of the town. "We, the undersigned, were appointed a com- 
mittee to inform you of the action of our council. 

Fraternally, ISAAC RAWSON, 

W. B. GARDNER, 
JAS. W. ELACK. 



Mr. MAY remarked that the order from which 
this emanated did all in its power to defeat his 
return to this House, if the vote of the town was 
to be regarded as proof of the fact. And yet, it 
assumed to instruct him on this question. He 
wished here to protest against this attempted 
dictation. He desired to stand here as a free- 
man, at liberty to vote as he saw fit. He designed 
to act as such, in defiance of factions or cliques 
at home. His position was distinctly understood 
by his constituents at large when they cast their 
votes. He was not questioned on this subject. It 
was unnecessary. He was voted for by the bone 
and sinew of his district as a Seward Whig. As 
such he should vote on this "floor- — disregarding 
all communications like these from such sources. 



SPEECH OF MR H. BAKER. 



Mr. BAKER said — Mr. Speaker: I do not rise, 
sir, to vindicate or defend the character of Wil- 
liam H. Seward against the assaults of his ene- 
mies. That, sir, would be not only a useless, but 
a foolish expenditure of time and breath, at this 
time, to be attempted by me. He needs no eulo- 
gy from me or any other member of this House, 
neither can the exasperated hatred of his impo- 
tent maligners injure his reputation. 

Sir, his reputation as a man, a scholar and a 
statesman is alreadycommitted to the faithful care 
and charge of History, who, under the smile3 
of a benignant Heaven, I trust will hand it down 
from generation to generation, so long as there 
remains one honest friend of human liberty in 
tne world ; for, sir, to that friend of freedom, 
wherever he may be, or in whatever age he may 
live hereafter, the life and character of William 
H. Seward will be a guiding star ! Yes, sir, in 
after ages, when wc shall have passed away, and 
the place? which now know us shall know us no 



more forever, his life and character will remain 
to animate and encourage the exertions of the 
friends of civil and religious liberty all over the 
civilized world ! What need then has he of my 
feeble efforts to speak in his behalf? or what 
need is there for him to fear the clamor of his 
malicious foes ? No, sir. I have not the vanity to 
think that any effort of mine is needed for his 
defence; and, therefore, I shall pass on to other 
matters more directly important and involved 
in the issue under discussion ; and I will premise, 
sir, that the dark and portentous clouds that are 
lowering over the political horizon, threatening 
to obscure the bright sun of human liberty, have 
never inspired me with one moment's fear or hesi- 
tation. I have buffeted storms from my infancy 
to the present hour ; it has been my fate, and I 
feel at home in this, and have an abiding confi- 
dence that it will soon pass away, and with it a 
putrid corruption which now taints the political 
air, infusing into the body politic a most malig- 



29 



nant poison, more hostile to American liberty 
than any device or heresy that has ever been 
propagated by any band of traitors since the be- 
ginning of our government. 

I am rejoiced, sir, that my friend from New- 
York (Mr. Petty) has introduced this resolution ; 
the discussion to which it has given rise will 
help scatter those pestiferous fogs which now 
choke and suffocate the lungs of freemen, and 
leave us a pure atmosphere which will impart 
life and vitality to those who breathe it. 

But, sir, I will proceed to the discussion of the 
main question which 1 purpose to bring to the 
notice of this House, namely, the parailel be- 
tween the oath required to be taken by the 
Jesuit and that required to be taken by the 
Hindoo branch of the Know Nothings. 

Sir, we have heard the oath of the Jesuit read 
and commented on by a Know Nothing in this 
House; and as there is no denial that the Know 
Nothings require the members of their order 
also to take an oath, I confess that I felt that 
there was a want of candor, when the gentleman 
who read and commented on the oath of the 
Jesuit refused to read for the information of this 
House the oath of the Know Nothing, although 
requested to do so. I, sir, for one, felt that, 
as a matter of honor, and justice and right, 
when gentlemen were making strictures and 
criticisms on the Jesuitical oath, the Know Nothing 
oath should also be read, that we may see and 
judge for ourselves which is the most pro- 
scriptive, intolerant, bigoted and slavish — the Je>uit 
or the Know Nothing (I mean of the Hindoo 
stripe). And, sir, as the merits of the respective 
parties are before us for consideration, I shall 
propose the reading of the oath required by the 
members of the order of Know Nothings, for the 
purpose of exhibiting the parallel between them 
and the Jesuits. We cannot form a correct opinion, 
sir, without having both sides of the case ; and 
as we have heard the oath of the Jesuit read, I 
will now read that of the Know Nothing. 
And here, sir, I will say to the leaders of the 
Know Nothings in this House, if they can they 
may deny the genuineness or authenticity of 
what I am about to read — but if they do deny 
it, I desire them to remember that mere denial 
is not proof; aud as they have the means to prove 
it a forgery or a fraud, if it be so, by producing 
and reading in evidence the true and genuine 
Know Nothing oath, if they fail to do so I 
shall take it for granted that they cannot success- 
fully deny it, and that what I read is a true. 
Know Nothing oath. I make this challenge, and 
offer, sir, before I proceed to read, that any hono- 
rable gentleman who can deny it may have the 
opportunity, for I do not wish to misrepresent 
this matter ; and if I am wrong I wish to be put 
right — for it is a very material point in this con- 
troversy. I will read, sir, the oaths, for it seems 
they have two — one for each degree in this beauti- 
ful school of virtue and purity. Yes, sir, they 
have two oaths, either of which will chill the 
blood of American citizens, who are not already 
suuk to the lowest stage of moral and mental 
depravity. Sir, Jesuitism in the darkest age of 
bigotry, superstition and human servility, never 
compared, in its slavish despotism over the 
minds of its depraved members, with the intole 
rant domination of this Know Nothing oath. 
But, sir, I will read the first obligation or oath 
required : 



" Ton and each of you, of your own free will and accord, 
in the presence of Almighty God and these witnesses your 
right hand resting on this Holy Bible and Cross, and your 
left hand toward Ileaven in token of your sincerity, do so- 
lemnly promise and mcear that you will not make known, 
to any person or persons, any of the signs, secrete, mysteries 
or objects of this organization,' unless it be to those whom, 
after due examination or lawful information, you shall find 
to be members of this organization in good standing ; that 
you will not cut, carve, print, paint, stamp, stain, or in any 
"way, directly or indirectly, expose any of the secrets or ob- 
jects of this order, nor suffer it to be done by others, if in 
your power to prevent it, unless it be lor official instruction; 
that so long as you are connected with this organization, if 
not regularly dismissed from it, you will in all things, 
political orsociil, so far as this order is concerned, com- 
ply with the will of the majority, when expressed in a 
lawful manner, tlunigh it may conflict with your personal 
preference, so long as it does not conflict with the Grand, 
Stale or Subordinate Constitutions — the Constitution of the 
United States of America, or that of the State in which you 
reside ; and that you will not, under any circumstances 
whatever, knowingly recommend an unworthy person for 
initiation, nor suffer it to be done if in your power to pre- 
vent it. You furthermore promise and declare that you 
will not vote nor give your influence for any man, for any 
office in the gift of the people, unless he be an American 
born citizen, in favor of American born citizens ruling 
America — nor if he be a Roman Catholic; and that you 
will not, under any circumstances, expose the name of any 
member of tfiis order, nor reveat the existence of such an 
organization. 

"To all the foregoing you bind yourself, under the no less 
penalty than that of being expelled from this order, and of 
having yuur name posted and circulated throughout the 
different councils of the United States as a perjurer and 
as a traitor to God and your country, as being unfit to be 
empk/yed, entrusted, countenanced or supported in any 
business transactions, as a person totally unworthy th-e 
confidence of all good men, and as one at whom ttie fin- 
ger of scorn slunild ever be pointed — so help you God." 

Sir, it is complained against the Jesuit that he 
surrenders up to his superior his personal right 
to think, act and speak for himself. Admit it, 
for the sake of this argument. But what, sir, is 
the character of this oath I have just read to 
you ? The party is required to swear of his own 
free will that he "will in all things, political or 
social, so far as this order is concerned, comply 
with the will of the majority, though it may conflict 
with his personal preference " — demanding from the 
outset, of their members, an absolute and servile 
surrender of their own free will and choice. 
Who, sir. could subscribe such an oath, selling his 
right to think for himself who is not already sunk 
to the lowest depths of human depravity ? They are 
also required to swear, sir, that they will not 
make known the secrets of the order, or the 
name of any person belonging to it, or of the ex- 
istence of the organization, or the objects of it ! 
Can you see, sir, any parallel in this clause with 
the oath of the Jesuit? And for what honest pur- 
pose, sir, is this secresy imposed ? We have al- 
ways in this free country believed in publishing 
our political vicics and opinions, that men could 
judge us fairly ; but here, sir, we see a party con- 
cealing their opinions from those whose patron- 
age they solicit ; and why, if they have honest 
plans and motives, should they thus seek, under 
the binding obligations of this *' higher law," to 
conceal them from the knowledge of men ? 1 
can tell you, sir, one motive. It is to get the votes 
of men under a fslse pretence ; for it is no less a 
maxim in morals than in law, that the suppression 
of a truth is equivalent to the perpetration of a 
falsehood. They know, sir, if they were to dis- 
close the fact that they had taken such a vile oath, 
they would lose the votes of plain, honest men, 
who are opposed to intrigue and double dealing, 
and also ol the poor foreigners, for whose perse- 
cution they are banded together. 

But we have seen them imposing upon the fo- 
reigner, by denying their connection with this 



30 



execrable band, and receiving his vote. Yes, sir, 
it is a part of their oath to conceal the truth, or 
in other plain words, they swear that if the ques- 
tion be asked them, whether they, or a neighbor, 
belong to the order, thai they will, deny it. How 
does this morality compare with the Jesuit? 
Again, sir, if these same men were to steal a 
penknife, they would be deemed in law and mo- 
rals as felons ; but in getting the suffrages of men 
under these false preences the law may not con- 
demn them ; yet they are guilty of a greater 
crime than petty larceny. It is obtaining, under 
a false pretence, the votes of men who would 
not vote for them, if they, like honest men, 
would declare their platform and avow their 
connection. 

Again, sir, they are required to swear that they 
will not support any person for office if he be a. 
Roman Catholic ! Sir, the constitution of this 
state provides that «' The free exercise and enjoy- 
ment of religions profession and worship, without 
discrimination or preference, shall forever be allow- 
ed in this state to all mankind." 

It also provides the form and substance of the 
oath of office as follows: "I do solemnly swear 
that I will support the constitution of the United 
States and the constitution of the State of New- 
York ; and that I will faithfully discharge the 

duties of the office of according to the best 

of my ability;" and then it adds, sir, that "no 
other oath, declaration or test shall be required 
as a qualification for office or public trust." 
Now, sir, if I shall be pointed out to be pro- 
scribed and voted down because I may be a 
Catholic — because I, sir, like a freeman, claim the 
benefit of this constitutional guarantee to enjoy 
the right to worship God as my conscience dic- 
tates, to enjoy that high gift which no earthly 
power has the right to confer or take away, aright 
which none but the Omnipotent Ruler of the 
universe has the prerogative to give or take 
away, is it or is it not proscription ? is it or is 
it not intolerance ? is it or is it not bigotry ? is it or 
is it not making a discriminationor preference on the 
ground of my religious profession ? is it or is it 
not practically nullifying the constitution by 
making and requiring tests unknown to that in- 
strument ? Again, sir, this Know Nothing oath, so 
hostile to the spirit of our free republican con- 
stitution, requires of the members who take it 
absolute servility and slavish,cowering obedience 
to the will of its majority; and if any man shall 
have the moral aud mental independence to 
think and act for himself, what is the penalty he 
must suffer ? Why, sir, no less than that of being 
branded "as a perjurer, and as a traitor to God and 
his country — as being unfit to be employed, entrusted, 
countenanced or supported in any business transac- 
tions — as a person totally unworthy the confidence 
of all good men, and as oue at whom the finger of 
scorn should ever be pointed^ And for what, sir, are 
all these dire curses, pains penalties and proscriptions 
to be denounced against him? why is be to be hunt- 
ed down, notonly in his politics, but in his business 
and social relations, like an outcast and a felon? 
Simply because he has a heart too free to become the 
servile slimy instrument in the hands of a band of 
perjured traitors to the constitution and laws of 
his country ! Because, sir, he has the vital en- 
ergy of a freeman to think and act for himself and 
renounce his connection with so corrupt, intol- 
erant and despotic a band of reckless men! Sir, 
when the country comes to understand the char- 
acter and objects of this political Juegernaul, and 



see and learn, sir, that in the hands of these reck- 
less men it is to be made use of to crush the best 
men in our state and country — not to correct a great 
political evil, but to build up one more dangerous 
to our free institutions than the open hostility of all 
the despotisms in the world — the people will be 
amazed, astounded and alarmed ; and I hope and 
trust, sir, that the day has already dawned when 
the spirit of Young America, aroused to a just 
sense of this dark stain upon its hitherto fair 
name, will rise in the power of truth and justice 
and human liberty, and obliterate from existence 
this proscriptive and intolerant secret inquisition — 
an inquisition, sir, which requires its members to 
take an oath that they will deny and suppress the 
truth — for they are required to swear in the pre 
sence of Almighty God that they will not dis- 
close the name of any member or the fact of the ex- 
istence of such •' organization.'"' So that, if asked 
the question whether there is such an "organiza- 
tion," they must by the requirements of their oath 
tell a falsehood and deny it! and this" organization" 
is got up, it is said, sir, to protect American inter 
ests ! Has it come to this, sir, that American inter- ' 
ests require falsehood and perjury, and proscrip- 
tion, intolerance and persecution to defend them? 
Forbid it, just Heaven, and save our beloved coun- 
try from such defenders as these ! 

But, sir, I will now pass from this brief review 
of the first lesson in the Know Nothing creed of 
morals and politics, and read the platform of 
those who, by their faithful adherence to the first 
oath, have entitled themselves to the honor of a 
second and higher step in the same direction ; 
and I here again, sir, call upon the high priests of 
this exemplary band of men to deny, if they can, 
that what I am about to read is not the form and 
substance of their oath. But remember, as they 
have the evidence to contradict it, if untrue, if they 
do not produce it and read it to this House, they 
must abide by the legal inference from the facta 
in the case, to wit, that they cannot prove this 
document spurious by producing the genuine to 
contradict it. I will proceed to read it as fol- 
lows : 

" You and each of you, of your own free will and accord, 
in the presence of Almighty God and these witnesses, 
your left hand resting on your right breast, and your 
right hand extended to the ftag^of your country, do 
solemly and sincerely swear that you will not, under any 
circumstances, discJose in any manner, nor suffer it to be 
done by others if in your power to prevent it, the name, 
sign, passwords, or other secrets of this degree ; that you 
will in all tilings conform to all the rules and regulation!} 
of this order, and to the constitution and by-laws of this or 
any other Council to which you may be attached, so long 
as "they do not conflict with tne constitution of the United 
States nor that of the State in which you reside ; that you 
will, under all circumstances, if in your power so to do, at- 
tend to all regular signs and sumnv nsesthat may be shown 
or sent to you by a Brother of this or any other degree of 
this order; that you, will support in all political matters, 
far all political office*, the second degree members of this 
order, provided it be necessary 'for the American interests; 
that, if it may be done legally, you will when elected to 
any office remove all foreigners, aliens or Roman 
Catholics from office, and that you will not appoint such 
to office. All this you promise and declare on your honor 
as Americans to sustain and abide by, without anv hesita- 
tion or mental reservation whatever, so help ym, God and 
keep you steadfast." 

One word of comment, sir, upon this oath — 
Mr. LAMPORT, of Ontario, here rose to a 
question of privilege, and stated that he felt him- 
self slandered by a charge against him that he 
(Mr. Lamport) was a country attorney — that he 
wished to deny it as a base slander — that he was 
a farmer and not a country attorney ; that he want- 
ed the gentleman from Montgomery (Mr. Baker) 



31 



to understand the difference, as he, Mr. B., seemed 
to be talking to him. 

Mr. BAKER, in answer, said he was pained to 
see the gentleman from Ontario straining so hard 
to swell himself into undue and far too magnifi- 
cent proportions ; that in honor, he, Mr. B., was 
bound to inform the gentleman from Ontario that 
in the remarks he had made, be, Mr. B., had not 
even thought of the gentleman from Ontario ; 
whose ludicrous efforts to force himself upon the 
notice of people, whether they would or would 
not, reminded him of a pompous little " critter" 
of the "first family stripe, v who, after various en- 
deavors to swell and magnify himself into pro- 
portions big enough to be noticed, finding all 
his efforts fain, in a fit of magnificent eloquence 
and pomposity, made a bold and gigantic strike 
by saving four of the biggest things he could think 
of, 

u The mammoth cave, what a wonde- !" 

" General Jackson ! !" 

" Daniel Ullmann ! ! !" 

"Fire uu<l thunder! ! ! !" 

of course, sir, he came into notice. 

But, sir, I will proceed to the oath. It, like the 
first one, requires that its members shall, " of 
their oicnfree will" swear to conceal even the name 
of the order, and of course must, if asked the 
question, either lie or break their oain. If they 
break their oath, they must lose their standing 
in this virtuous body. If they p rpetrate a false- 
hood and keep their promise, then they are enti- 
tled to remain in good standing, and enj >y all the 
rights and privileges of the order ! Will anybody 
tell me what there is in Jesuitism so low and 
base and depraved and corrupt as this ? Has the 
world ever witnessed, at any time or in any age, 
in the creed of any class, sect, despot, tyrant or 
bandit, a principle more subversive of honor, 
rights, equality, and mental and moral liberty, than 
this requisition in the "Know Nothing" oath ? 
Pledged before God as a witness that they will 
ignore and deny what they know; sworn, sir, that, to 
keep secret the name or object of this organiza- 
tion, or even its existence, or the name of any of 
its members, they will perpetrate a falsehood to 
do it ; and " with the left hand resting on their heart, 
and their right hand extended to the flag of their 
country,'' invoke that sacred emblem of Ameri- 
can liberty to witness their mora.' debasement 
and mental prostitution! Sir, let us contemplate 
for one moment this fearful picture of human 
depravity, corruption and mental debasement: 
imagine, sir, in some secluded, dark and bolted 
room, dedicated to those fearful and mysterious 
rites, a band of American youth submitting 
themselves to the mean and slavish ordeal of 
initiation into an organization which requires of 
them, as a condition of admission, the renuncia- 
tion of the right to tell the truth — the right to think 
and will and obey the volitions of -their own minds ! 
and, as if this sacrifice is not enough to satisfy 
the projectors of this order, they are required 
to agree that, if they repudiate in any after time 
this bandit oath, they are to be branded as per- 
jurers and pursued and hunted down as felons; 
thus precluding a manly vindication of their man- 
hood, and mental and moral independence, under 
such dreadful penalties, that he must be a man of 
iron nerve, and heart of steel, who will dare to 
spurn and defy their wicked machinations and 
brutal despotism over his free right to think and 
act for himself. 

Again, sir, by this oath we see who and who 
only are to be voted for, for office— to wit, " that 



you will support, in all political matters, for all politi- 
cal offices, the second degree members of this order. 1 ' 
This, sir, by every fair rule of construction, means 
that nobody but we of the " first families," our 
noble selves, shall hereafter be supported for any 
office in this state ! This, sir, without "putting too 
fine a point upon it," is the height of modesty and 
virtue. We will not vote for anybody who does 
not belong to "our set;" but when we run for 
office we will deny (as we are sworn to do) that 
we belong to this order, and thus beguile even 
poor foreigners to vote for us ! Sir, we have 
seen recently most mortifying instances of "first 
families" sacrificing their ease and luxurious com- 
forts, and offering themselves living sacrifices "to 
save the Union" and their country from the 
vandal hands of those who love to breathe free 
air. Young America, conscious of his own 
youthful vigor and ability to protect and save 
himself, not only from foreign but domestic foes, 
simply but courteously thanked the " first fami- 
lies " for their great condescension, and smiled 
and bowed them out. 

But now, sir, when he comes to learn this new 
impulse of generosity from the "first families" 
to save him from the Jesuits and the Pope — and 
sees the unholy invocation of his " flag " to wit- 
ness the debasement and prostitution of his sons 
to falsehood and treacheiy, his indignation may 
teach traitors the just reward of their demerits. 

Sir, while I am on this subject of the " first 
families" I desire to draw a brief parallel be- 
tween the " higher law" doctrine of William 
H. Seward and that of the " Hindoo" or " first 
family" order of Know Nothings. William H. 
Seward believes it to be the duty of all human 
legislatures to make their laws in conformity with 
the laws of Him "in whom we live and move and 
have our being," who "breathed into us the 
breath of life," the tenure of which is in his 
hands ; but this branch of the " Know Nothing" 
order believe in taking oaths to practice deceit 
and falsehood — to proscribe and persecute men 
for conscience sake, although our constitution has 
guaranteed " the free exercise and enjoyment of 
religious profession, without discrimination or 
preference^ yet they bind themselves by their 
oaths to make a discrimination and preference 
against the Catholics, whether of American or 
foreign birth ; this oath or obligation is their 
"higher law;" to them it is higher than the 
constitution of the United States or of the State 
of New-York! This, sir, is one of the "great 
institutions" of the " first families" that "Sam" 
is so ardently in love with. 

Sir, I have taken already too much time in re- 
viewing the character of this beautiful " institu- 
tion." T had hoped, sir, that this whole matter 
might have been left to lie iu silence and die in 
oblivion. But my friend from New-York (Mr. 
Petty) desired to bring it into newspaper notice, 
and therefore he brought it on the tapis, and chal- 
lenged the conflict. What has been said and 
done cannot be recalled ; and if the gentleman 
has got more than he advertised for, he is wel- 
come to the surplus, and I hope he will be 
satisfied, ae he is in honor bound. 

One word, sir, in behalf of my friend, Mr. 
Leigh, from New-York. I understand he is com- 
plained of, not so much for urging the introduc- 
tion of this resolution as because he did not make 
it the occasion to denounce Wm. H. Seward. 
Did the gentlemen either from Genesee or New- 
York think that the gentleman from New-York 



32 



(Mr. Leigh) would speak contrary to his own 
personal views ? If they did, sir, I think they 
are mistaken in their man ; and when I see such 
appliances and threats to browbeat and bully a 
member of this House to go against his own hon- 
est convictons of what is right, it is cheering and 
refreshing indeed, sir, to see such a man rise above 
the power and domination of Know Nothing oaths, 
and stand by that personal right granted to him 
by his God (and of which no earthly power can 
lawfully deprive him)., vindicate hi3 honor and 
prove himself a man. 

Sir, while in this conection, I cannot let the 
allusions whicn have beon made to tho Speaker 
pass by without a single remark. And first, sir, I 
was surprised to hear the gentleman from West- 
chester (Mr. Watkrbury) and the gentleman 
from New-York (Mr. Petty) attack the Speaker 
on the ground of his " higher law" affinities, 
when they themselves, each and both, acknow- 
ledge the dominant authority of the •' Know 
Nothing oath" or obligation over their ownmi/.ds, 
to such an extent that they- dare not tell me who their 
candidate for senator is — but will say don't know. 
I ask the question, dare any of the fraternity 
tell ? No one answers, and no one dare answer, 
because they are under a " higher law ;" higher, 
sir, in their judgment, than truth and candor. 
And, sir, again 1 say, it is refreshing to see some 
men in this body capable of rising above the 
binding oath of the order to deceive and con- 
ceal the truth from the gaze of all men; but in 
reply to the charge implied in the allusions, I 
can say, and I think from good authority, that the 
Speaker never belonged to the order of Hindoos 
in Oswego, but that his adversary got them to 
adopt h.m as their candidate and gave him their 
support. 

I have said, sir, that this order are bound by 
their oaths to conceal the truth ; and last fall, 
when many members were running for the offices 
which they now hold, they denied all connection 
with the '• Know Nothing" order, and by so do- 
ing received the votes and suffrage of many men, 
and even foreigners, who would not have voted for 
them had they known of such connection. I, sir, 
should feel ashamed to hold a seat upon this 
floor, conferred upon me by the votes of those 
men I came here to persecute and proscribe — and 
to get those votes, too, by concealing the fact of 
my connection with the order; yet, sir, there are 
men here who did receive such votes and under 
such circumstances. But they received them by 
concealing the facts and the truth ; and that, sir, is 
the code of honor of the " first family" chivalry 
of the order of the " first and second degrees of 
Know Nothings." 

Sir, one more word as to the higher law 
doctrine of this great institution. It relates to 
the right which the members have to construe 
the meaning of their own oaths : and [ will here 
inquire, for information, whether I have been cor- 
rectly informed that last fall, about the time of 
the Assembly nominations or soon thereafter, 
there was not a resolution passed by the Grand 
Council at New-York, to the effect that certain 
officers or high priests of the order were vested 
with the right to construe the oath, and so direct 
the members under that construction, as to take 
from them entirely the right of choice — or, in 
other words, the right to dictate to members who 
would and who would not promote the American 
interest? And the member obeying his oath to 
yield obedience to the dictation of "the ma- 



jority," who, having delegated iheir right to 
think to a few (no doubt belonging to the "first 
families"), literally surrendered all rightand pow- 
er to think and act upon his own judgment to 
the arbitrary will of a few of the high priests. 

This, sir, is the "higher law" doctrine of this 
"first family" order of 1st and 2d degree Know 
Nothings! 

Sir, when this order first made itself known to 
the world, and its object was declared to be the 
correction of present abuses in the administra- 
tion of our naturalization laws, I felt there was a 
propriety in that object — that abuses exist which 
should be corrected, if need be by legislation ; and 
in this just view of the case all naturalized citizens 
could not but concur. But when, sir,in the process 
of time and the development of its spirit of bigo- 
try, proscription and persecution against men on 
the ground of their religion, and its anti-American 
political doctrines, it became palpable that it was 
under the control of bad men, and thread bare 
politicians who had been cast off from other par- 
ties for a want of moral worth and virtue suffi- 
cient to command respect, I no longer hesitated 
as to what was the duty of honest and frank men 
everywhere — to expose their corruptions and vile 
machinations. And, sir, when I look around 
within this sacred temple dedicated to freedom, 
and witness what we have witnessed, see mem- 
bers of this House threatened by this band of 
midnight confederates, from every part of the 
state, with penalties and persecutions because 
they have the manliness and honesty to stand by 
the principles of justice, liberty and truth, I 
am but confirmed in my convictions, that the 
" institution" is in the hands of a band of reckless, 
broken-down politicians, who know it all import- 
ant for their success to conceal their names from 
the knowedge of their fellow citizens. 

And when I further see, sir, a feeling of ma- 
lignant hatred and hostility against William H. 
Seward, exhibited by these same self-consti- 
tuted lovers of America, who would change our 
government from that of republican freedom to 
that of intolerant bigotry and religious persecu- 
tion — who would degrade the character of our 
people from that, state of independent personal 
freedom and liberty to think, will, and act for 
themselves, into miserable, cowering slaves, will- 
ing to act and do the bidding of their leaders, 
even against their own convictions of right, 
under pains and penalties and oaths, I must 
confess, sir. that there is reason to feel mortified 
and alarmed that there have been so many to 
fall into the power of this corrupt and rotten 
band of traitors to the principles of our free 
country. 

That William H. Seward should be the first 
victim sought to be immolated by this band of 
worthies is not surprising. He is as much un- 
like them as purity is from corruption. It would 
be strange indeed if they were not to single him 
from among the other statesmen of this state, as 
the first victim of their malice. He believes 
there is a higher law than that of poor, frail man, 
which should govern even priDces and states, 
and to which all human law should conform. 
He believes that man was "born with certain 
inalienable rights" — (rights which the recipient 
has no right to sell or alienate, or barter away) — 
" that among these are life, liberty and the pur- 
suit of happiness." Liberty, sir, to think, will 
and act. for ourselves, not to be disposed of as 
required by the oath of the order, but to be en- 



33 



joyed in absolute and unrestrained freedom. 
Yes, sir, he believes in these things. 

But they would persecute aud hunt down the 
mau who has the misfortune to differ with them 
in religious faith. They require men to sign and 
take oaths surrendering up a right to will and 
act upon their own convictions. They require 
their members to take an oath to submit to the 
will of the majority, and that majority can dele- 
gate its power to the grand high priest of the 
order to think and will for the many ! I am not 
surprised that these men do not love William 
H. Seward— how could they? He, sir, has 
stood firm as a wall of adament to resist the 
assaults of slavery when other men have fallen 
by his side. He has, sir, with the fortitude of a 
grea»t mind, and with the humility and meek- 
ness of a Christian, endured the insults and jeers 
of southern blackguards. When he has been 
reviled, he reviled not again. He has faithfully 
defended the rights and interests of New-York 
in the councils of the nation, and now stands in 
the Senate of the United States, where the great 
Webster stood — the ablest champion for the 
commerce of New- York aud the Union. Can 
New-York spare him ? Is there a young man 



in this great state, of whatever party or predi- 
lection, who has the intelligence and the heart of 
a man, who does not feel an exultation in the 
name and character of William H Seward? 

Sir, I have already trespassed too long upon 
the patience of this House ; but, before I take my 
seat, sir, let me invoke that Power who rules m 
Heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth 
to guide and direct our deliberations in deciding 
upon this momentous question, in which the 
friends of civil and religious liberty throughout 
this great republic feel a most intense and pro- 
found interest. His return to the senate is the 
triumph of religious and civil liberty— of demo- 
cratic freedom and human rights. His defeat 
shrouds us in the murky gloom of slavery, religi- 
ous intolerance, bigotry and persecution. Sir, 

"Ne'er waved beneath the golden sun 

A lovelier banner tor the brave — 
Than that our bleeding lathers won, 

And proudly to their children gave." 

May that banner wave in the smiles of to- 
morrow's sun over the capitolof the Empire 
State — an emblem and a token that New- York 
has decided in favor of civil and religious liberty, 



REMARKS OF MR. M. L. RICKERSON 

TO A PRIVILEGED QUESTION. 



Mr. RICKERSON" said : I desire, Mr. Speaker, 
to speak for a moment to a privileged question. 
As I was about to commence my remarks, a let- 
ter was handed to me which I had not then time 
to open. I have since perused it, and I wish to 
read it to show the infamous character of the 
efforts which are being made to defeat Mr. Sew- 
ard, and to control the action of members of this 
House. [Various objections were made, but a 
do2en voices simultaneously moved that he be 
permitted to read, and the permission was grant- 
ed.] Mr. R. read as follows: 

Oatskill, Jan'y,lS55. 
Mr M. L. Eickeeson : 

Dear Sir and Brother— -I regret to hear that you have 

made application for a withdrawal card from your C . 

I am pleased to hear, however, that your application was 
not granted. 

I learn, moreover, that you are pledged, and was, pre- 
vious to election or your nomination, to vote for Wm. H. 
Seward. 

Now, I hope that I am misinformed, and that you will be 
true to the sacred obligation you have taken, and promises 
you nadelome; but if you are not, you will not be permitted 
to withdraw from your C, but you will be expelled, and no- 
tice, will be sent to every C in this state (some 1,600 in 

number) of your expc'.aion ; and reasons why, nameh/, for 
being a traitor and a perjurer, and not to be trusted in 
any transaction; and more than this, our members swear 
they will burn you in effigy in every village in the county 
if you do not prove true. Now, these are not mere threats 
to be forgotten, but will be carried out to the very letter. 
Now, I sincerely hope you will prove yourself a man in this 
emergency, and not be ruled by a party demagogue, who 
has always been our most bitter enemy, and now makes 
his brags that he makes you do everything he wishes, in 
epite of all your obligations and promises. Now, you must 
be well aware that if you vote for Seward it will be your 
political death knell ; besides the promises fcW/have made 
you will not be kept after Seward is elected'; you can go 
where you choose for all they care. 



It is currently reported all over the county now that you 
have been bought with money and promises to vote for Sew- 
ard. Every man I meet almost from the country is asking 
about you; and it seems they caDnot believe you will de- 
base yourself so much as to violate your oath ; and they 
all say you will do that if you vote for Seward, and you 
are as well aware of that as I am. Now remember that you 
alone are to suffer by this course ; and I trust and hope you 
wiil not do what you will regret of when too late. 

I inclose resolutions as pas^ed by my C in respect to 
your vote. I also inclose a resolution sent to me to forward 
to you from Lexington, they not knowing your address at 
Albany. Yours, fraternally, 

J. H. VAN GOEDEN, P.; 158. 

Mit. Speaker, this insolent communication needs 
no denial at my hands. The man that could be 
base enough to write such a letter to any man 
would not be believed under any circumstances. 
I will only take occasion to say that there has 
not been the first intimation of benefit, personal 
or pecuniary, offered or proposed in any form or 
shape to induce me to vote for Mr. Skward. I 
will also take occasion to say that the man who 
wrote this letter, and those who act with him, 
have reckoned without their host I share too 
largely in the independent spirit of my distriet 
to be awed by such threats as these. I bid their 
authors defiance. I am no slave, to be lashed 
into obedience to insolent masters. Their threats 
pass by me as the idle wind. I trample upon 
them as the dust beneath my feet. I represent the 
mountain county of the state, and those eternal 
hills shall be shaken from their base before I 
shall be moved from my purpose. No human 
power — nothing but the fiat of the God whom I 
serve — shall shake me from my purpose to cast my 
vote, on Tuesday next, for William H. Seward, 
the heroic champion of justice and freedom. 



34 



SPEECH OF MR. R. M. BLATCHFORD. 



MONDAY, Februaby 5, 1855. 

Mr. BLATCHFORD said : Iu rising, Mr. Speak- 
er, to express my sentiments on the resolution 
under consideration, it is my purpose to consume 
only a few minutes of your time. When this 
resolution was. first read by the gentleman from 
New-York in his pltfce (Mr. Petty), it met my 
hearty approval. I thought it might pass this 
House "without debate, and receive the unanimous 
vote of the friends as well as the enemies of Mr. 
Seward. But such has not been its fate. It has 
given rise to a protracted discussion, and one 
not free at all times from asperity. Gentlemen 
have thought fit, iu no measured terras, to assail 
the character and impugn the motives of Mr. 
Seward. His purest actions have been misrep- 
resented, and his noble sentiments grossly per- 
verted. 

Mr. Speaker, if a stranger to Mr. Seward and 
to his history, and to the institutions of this 
country, had been a listener to portions of the 
debate here for the last few days, he would have 
lefi this chamber with the conviction that a mod- 
ern Cataline was among us seeking place and 
power, in order to subvert the liberties of his 
country. Almost every epithet that the blister- 
ing tongue of the Roman orator, in the Roman 
Senate, could apply to that arch conspirator, has 
been heaped upon the devoted head of Mr. Sew- 
ard. And some of the gentlemen who have 
spoken have exhibited as much bittnerness and 
hatred as if they had formerly been his friends. 
But not all of them, sir. I beg leave specially to 
except the gentleman from Ulster (Mr. Gates), 
and to thank him for the truthful tribute which, 
at the conclusion of his very able remarks, he 
rendered to Mr. Seward's character. It was as 
honorable to that gentleman as it was just to- 
wards the subject of it 

Mr. Speaker, I am not going to enter upon an 
elaborate defence of Mr. Seward. He does not 
need it He has already received it from much 
abler hands on this floor, and fortified, too, by 
proof which has not been and cannot be contro- 
verted or overthrown. His views on all impor- 
tant questions which have arisen in the last 
twenty years, both here and in Washington, have 
been spread broad-cast over the land. Nothing 
is hidden — nothing is concealed ; and now, after 
a long and faithful service in which his energies 
have been tasked and his integrity tried, he comes 
before his constituents to receive their approba- 
tion or their condemnation. Shall we withhold 
from him the reward which he has earned ? But 
that, sir, is a consideration of a personal nature, 
and of minor consequence when compared with 
others. 

There are higher and vital questions in this 
controversy — questions of principle, not of men ; 
questions involving the permanency of our free 
institutions and the great interests of humanity. 
Let it be disguised as it may be, Mr. Speaker, 
the battle that is to be fought in this chamber 
to-morrow is nothing less than the battle of 
freedom and of slavery. Other issues, compo- 
nent parts of it, are, it is true, involved — religi- 
ous toleration and liberty of conscience ; but the 
great issue at stake is the absorbing one which 
.has. for years past, excited, and for years to come 
must continue to excite, the two great antagonis- 



tic sections of the country, the North and South. 
Shall this free state, on which, at this moment, 
the eyes of the Union are fixed, falter in her 
principles, and peril the cause and sacrifice the 
champion of freedom to this newly -fledged, intol- 
erant bigotry of Native Americanism — an ism 
subversive, as I verily believe, in its effects, of 
the fundamental laws of the land, and destruc- 
tive of the broad and catholic principles on 
which it is based ? And why is he to be sacri- 
ficed ? What is the charge on which he is ar- 
raigned here and tried, and I may add condemn- 
ed? The head and front of it is, that he is not 
an American in feeling, in principle and in 
speech. 

Mr. Speaker, if it were not for the respect to 
which the gentlemen who make this assertion are 
entitled — a respect which does not attach to the 
assertion itself — I should not hesitate to say 
they know better. It has no foundation in truth. 
It is a libel on his whole life. He has never ut- 
tered an anti-American sentiment It is a bald 
assertion and cannot be sustained by proof. His 
works — his writings — his speeches — his corres- 
pondence are in almost every library. I chal- 
lenge his enemies to produce the proof. But, 
sir, what is it that it is pretended by some gives 
color to the charge ? It is his steady and perse- 
vering maintenance of the political and religious 
rights of the foreigner who seeks a home on our 
shores — who comes to us from a love of our re- 
publican institutions, or to better his condition, 
or because he is driven by poverty and oppres- 
sion to seek an asj'lum more congenial to his 
hopes and aspirations. For such sentiments, sir, 
I would applaud, instead of reproaching him. 
With the enlarged views of a statesman and phi- 
lanthropist, he extends the hand of welcome to 
the emigrant and exile, and secures their patriotic 
devotion to our institutions by according to them 
equal rights and equal privileges. They leave 
their old home to give their affections to then- 
new. But, sir, let the contracted principles of 
this new party prevail and those affections will 
be chilled at the threshold. Suspicion and distrust 
will meet them at every step, and the glow of grati- 
tude for your hospitality will degenerate into a 
cold and reluctant love for their adopted land. 
This Quixotic crusade against the foreigner — this 
bugbear apprehension of encroachments on our 
liberties — cannot fail to prove in its results detri- 
mental to the substantial prosperityof the country. 
He, sir, has been called a benefactor of his race 
who can cause two blades of grass to grow where 
one grew before. It is to these foreigners that we 
are indebted in no inconsiderable degree for the 
cultivation of our soil, for the digging of our ca- 
nals, for the construction of our railroads— aud 
we owe our gratitude to that statesman whose 
policy presents to them inducements and en- 
couragement to come to us ; but, sir, this new 
order, which, in such hot haste, seeks to gr;isp in 
its ruthless hand the destinies of this favored 
country, proposes to strike a mortal blow at the 
civic rights of the foreigner, and disfranchise, to 
a certain extent, as well those who have grown 
grey under our laws as those who are yet to 
come, under the delusive expectation of the pro- 
tection of those laws. No one, sir, can predict 
where this crusade will end — what disorganiza- 



35 



tion of society it may produce — what inroads it 
may make on the peace and harmony of states 
and territories, or how far it may undermine the 
principles of our republican government and 
our free institutions. 

I beg to say a few words, Mr. Speaker, about 
the much abused sentiment of Mr. Seward re- 
specting the higher law — a sentiment most true 
and just— creditable to him as a man, a Christian 
and a statesman. The spirit of it was stated by 
the gentleman from New-York, who so aloquently 
and manfully opened this debate. It is a senti- 
ment, sir, which will bear the closest scrutiny. 
1 will give you Mr. Seward's words precisely as 
they were uttered in his place in the senate, and 
as contained in his published works. It was in 
his speech on the 11th of March, 1850, on the ad- 
mrssiou of California into the Union, he said : 

'• It is true, indeed, that the national domain is ours. It is 
true it was acquired by the valor and with the wealth of 
the whole nation. Bat we hold, nevertheless, no arbitrary 
power over it. "We hold no arbitrary authority over any- 
thing, whether acquired lawfully or seized by usurpation. 
The constitution regulates our stewardship. The consti- 
tution devotes the domain to union— to justice — to de- 
fence — to welfare and to liberty. But there is a higher 
law than the constitution which regulates our authority 
over the domain and devotes it to the same noble purposes. 
The territory is a part, no inconsiderable part, of the com- 
m >n heritage of mankind, bestowed upon them by the 
Creator of the universe. We are His stewards, and must 
so discharge our trust as to secure, in the highest attainable 
degree, their happiness." 

That, sir, is the whole of it — entire, ungarbled. 
It recognizes the law of God and its superior 
claims, but it asserts no contradiction between 
that law and the constitution ; but, on the con- 
trary, it expressly asserts on the subject in ques- 
tion — it asserts that the constitution devotes the 
domain to union and to liberty ; but that there 
is a higher law than the constitution, which de- 
votes it to the same noble purposes. Mr. Speak- 
er, is there anything in that sentiment or in 
those words to justify the gentleman from Onta- 
rio in giving to them the construction which he 
did, viz, that they inculcated a right to with- 
hold obedience from a constitutional law which 
contravened in any part of the country the pop- 
ular will? Is there anything in that sentiment 
or in those words which should drag down their 
author from his exalted seat in the senate aud 
stigmatize him as almost a traitor ? It is, sir, the 
stale slander of the pro slavery men of the South, 
propagated for unworthy purposes, to impair his 
influence and abridge his usefulness. I am sorry to 
see it hashed up here, having no other tendency 
than to pamper to the malignity of slaveocraey. 

Mr. Speaker, it is the South, and not the people 
of this state, who desire to terminate the career 
of William H. Seward in the senate. He is the 
bitter foe of slavery, and the South can never for- 
give or forget his memorable declaration : 

" Show me the way in which I can give a vote, an effectual 
vote, for the emancipation of the slave in any state, and I 
shall feid honored and participate in the movement, and 
my vote shall be given to sustain it with more gladness — 
more gratitude and more joy than it was ever given upon 
any occasion in my life." 

It is the South, sir, who desire his removal from 
the senate. His virtues and his presence there 
are a standing rebuke to their encroachments up- 
on freedom ; and, like Aristides the Just, he must 
be banished. 

I am sorry, sir, that such enemies find coadju- 
tors here, and that, too, among gentlemen of his 
own party ; but it is not so everywhere. The or- 
ganized committees in New-York have received 



with acclamation the intelligence of his nomina- 
tion, and unanimously proclaimed their joy at 
the prospect of his reelection. 

I have said, sir, that the people of this state do 
not desire his defeat. I believe it would be de- 
plored by a large portion of the Democratic par- 
ty. And here, sir, allow me to make my grateful 
acknowledgments to my eloquent friend and po- 
litical opponent from New- York (Mi. O'Keefb) 
for his bold and generous declaration on this floor, 
that if his vote was necessary to save Mr. Seward 
from being sacrificed, he should have it. There 
are strong reasons, sir, why the representatives of 
the city of New- York ought not to stand l»y and 
see him sacrificed. That city has never had in the 
national councils so able, so successful, so relia- 
ble an advocate of all her commercial interests. 
He has uniformly sustained them through evil 
and through good report. I refer to his efficient 
advocacy of the French spoliation bill, which is 
at length about to become a law ; to his speech 
on American steam navigation ; on the survey of 
the Arctic and Pacific oceans; on the whale 
fisheries ; the American fisheries ; the Collins' 
steamers ; the mint in New- York ; on commerce 
in the Pacific ; and last but not least on the im- 
provement of harbors and rivers — all able efforts, 
exhibiting deep research, accurate historical 
knowledge, and an intimate acquaintance with 
commercial law. 

Mr. Speaker, it is not my design to speak about 
the grave and startling revelations which have 
been made in this chamber respecting secret or- 
ganizations — the oaths which they impose — the 
anti-American and anti-republican obligations 
which they exact, and that independence of ac- 
tion and of principles which those oaths seek to 
fetter and to trammel. That subject has been 
discussed by gentlemen more familiar with its 
humiliating details. But I thank God that there 
are gentlemen here with patriotism and moral 
courage enough to disengage themselves from the 
thraldom which exacted, in my humble judgment, 
obligations paramount to the constitution which 
they had sworn to support 

To return William H. Seward to the senate to- 
morrow, is a duty we owe to him, to ourselves, 
to the great state we represent, and to the Union, 
of which that state is so large a part. We owe 
it to him, for his fearless and faithful devotion 
to the interests so long committed to his care; 
for his patriotism and statesmanship ; for his emi- 
nent talents, and for the unsurpassed ability and 
singleness of purpose which he has displayed in 
the executive chair of the state, and on the floor 
of the senate, an equal among superiors. We 
owe it him, as a tribute to his public virtue and 
the unsullied purity of his private life ; and above 
all, we owe it to the great cause of freedom, of 
benevolence and of humanity. We owe it to the 
whole North,- to strengthen their hands and en- 
courage their hearts in resisting the unscrupu- 
lous tyranny of the slave power. 

Mr. Speaker, if the North is true to itself. — if, 
with firmness of purpose and unity of action, it 
will send to the national councils such men 
as William H. Seward, perhaps no one within 
the sound of my voice may, but our children 
may live to behold, with uplifted eyes, the dawn 
of that glorious day, in this favored land, when 
THE SUN SHALL NOT RISE ON A MASTER 
NOR SET ON A SLAVE. 



36 



EXTRACT FROM THE SPEECH OF MR. T. B. GATES. 



Mr. GATES spoke at length to the resolution, 
closing his remarks as follows : 

While, therefore, I most heartily approve of 
the course of Mr. Seward on the slavery question, 
and can conscientiously make no charge against 
him in reference to cur schools; while I admire 
his social, moral and mental qualities — his en- 
larged philanthropy and noble impulses, I fail 
to find in him another quality which I should 
likewise wish to see in the man for whom I cast 
my vote as senator. 

Mr. Seward does not and will not represent me 
or a majority of my constituents upon another 
question which is felt to be of vital importance 
to the permanent welfare of our country. I do 
not approve of his views in reference to the po- 
litical rights of foreigners ; they are at war with 
mine and with the newly awakened sense of the 
relations which should subsist between the gov- 
ernment and those who have sought its protec- 
tion from foreign shores. 

There is no doubt of Mr. Seward's sentiments 
upon this subject, for they have been expressed 
in the senate, and more recently at a public din- 
ner in New-York. 

I desire to see a man sent to the senate from 
this state, who, while he possesses all the noble 
traits of Mr. Seward, shall also embody and ex- 
hibit the principle incorporated in the injunction 
that Americans should be entrusted with office 
and power in preference to foreigners. 



How has this doctrine fallen into disrepute, sir, 
among the politicians of the day ? Look abroad 
and see by what characters our country is now 
represented at foreign courts. Look at home and 
see by what means success is sought at our elec- 
tions, and how demagogues and party leaders 
cater for the votes of our adopted citizens. 

It is believed these things have been endured 
until endurance has ceased to be a virtue ; that 
the people have shaken off the shackles of party, 
and demanded a recognition of a higher and truer 
standard of political rights. 

In conclusion, sir, permit me to say that I do 
not agree with the extreme American party on 
this floor, nor wholly with the Whigs, of whom 
I claim to be one. But I am governed by no 
thought of popularity or political advancement 
As a free, moral agent, accountable to God and 
my constituents only for my action here, I shall 
endeavor to satisfy myself what is right, and that 
do. 

If Mr. Seward entertained views more conso- 
nant with my own upon this question, there is no 
man under Heaven for whom I would more glad- 
ly, joyfully cast my vote. And if this quality 
cannot be found combined with those which have 
made Mr. Seward so justly beloved, then it will 
remain for me to determine for myself which one 
shall be sacrificed to the other. 



SPEECH OF MR. D. 0. LITTLEJOHN. 



ASSEMBLY— February 5, 1855. 

The Hon. the SPEAKER (Mr. Blatchford 
in the chair) said — Mr. Speaker: When I closed 
my add less on Thuraday last, I did not suppose 
that I should again trespass upon the time of the 
House. And sir, nothing but the utterance of 
charges, which reflect seriously upon my char- 
acter and reputation, could have induced me 
again to take the floor. I then expressed my 
views briefly, upon topics which were and still 
are under discussion. I am no man of change ; 
and I desire now to ask the indulgence of the 
House, first, to justify myself from the aspersions 
which have been cast upon me; and, secondly, 
to give the reasons, at more length, which in- 
fluenced me in what I then said, and in what I 
now desire to say. In my remarks I shall en- 
deavor not to forget what is due to myself as a 
gentleman ; and shall treat all to whom I refer 
as gentlemen. I shall indulge in no personali- 
ties; while I shall express my views fearlessly 
and without regard to the effect which they may 
have upon myself, personally. My position is 
based on principle, and what I shall say shall 
have regard to principle rather than to men. 

Sir, in entering upon this subject, I desire to 
preface my remarks by reading, lest they may 
not have been clearly understood when made, a 
portion of the remarks of the gentleman from 
New-York (Mr. Petty). He says: 

"Now, sir, I wish to say something about our Speaker, 
•who thought it his duty to leave the chair and mix in this 

debate." 



Sir, when, by the kindness and expressed 
preferences of my associates on this floor, I was 
placed in that chair, I did not suppose that I had 
surrendered any one of the rights which belonged 
to me as a member of this House, nor did I sup- 
pose that, in accepting that honor, my constitu- 
ents were to be deprived of my services in de- 
bate, should my sense of duty require" me to 
avail myself of my constitutional privileges. 
Forever be gone the honors and place, if by ac- 
cepting either 1 am called upon to surrender my 



rights as a member of this House 



appreciate 



the dignity of the position in which I have been 
placed ; but forever be gone that and every other 
honor attached to it, if by accepting them I am 
required to prove recreant to my trusts and to 
my constituents ! I claim the right to exercise 
all the privileges secured to every other member 
of this House, and shall take care, on all fitting 
and proper occasions, to exercise those rights and 
privileges. 

The gentleman, further on in his remarks, 
says: 

"I felt convinced, when he did so, that he feared his 
cause was growing desperate." 

My " cause growing desperate!" Why, sir, I 
stood here, and stand here, simply to give utter- 
ance to my views upon certain great principles 
at issue. lam not the servant or slave of any 
man. I am but the advocate of a principle. I 
love not William II. Seward beyond a thousand 
other men hi this state. I only honor him at this 



37 



time before all other men, because of the prin- 
ciples which he vindicated, under most trying 
circumstances, more nobly and effectually than 
any other senator. I am the craven follower of 
no man. 

The gentleman proceeded to say: 

"He knows that he had his creatures in the Know Noth- 
ing Wliii: caucus that met on Monday afternoon, the 1st of 
January, and that that caucus saw fit to endorse him as. 
their candidate. He also knows that at the general Whig- 
caucus in this chamber, every one of the candidates agreed 
upon in the afternoon where then adopted." 

Sir, was there such a caucus? — 

Mr. PET-T\ : I guess the gentleman knows. 

The SPEAKER: Not from personal knowledge 
or participation. The gentleman well knows 
that 1 did not reach this city until one brief hour 
previous to the assembling of the Whig caucus 
which selected me as its candidate for Speaker. 
I neither directly or indirectly influenced this or 
any other caucus in its deliberations. Sir : No 
man on this floor — nay, no man within the 
limits of this broad state, has the scratch of 
a pen from me, soliciting him to place ' me 
or aid in placing me in the position which I 
now hold. I sought it not. When I was ad- 
dressed, as I was by honorable gentlemen in re- 
gat'd to it, my answer uniformly was, that the 
matter should be left entirely with the House 
when it should assemble. I asked the vote of no 
human being; nor did I ask any Know Nothing 
caucus to place me in that chair. I came here 
to act, as I act elsewhere, as an independent and 
fearless man — as a man of principle, who cannot 
be changed from what I deem to be right. Thus, 
6ir, do I dispose of this charge of deception. 
How could I have deceived any man ? If kind 
friends said anything which induced any gentle- 
man to contribute to place me in that chair, it 
was alike without my knowledge or approval. 

But, sir, this is not all. The gentleman pro- 
ceeded to say : 

" But that is not all. Mr. Speaker, and to this I call your 
especial attention. There is a member of this House, who, 
at home, din go whining around a temperance convention 
to secure their nomination, but when he failed, attempted 
to divide the temperance strength by getting up another 
convention, but which proved a'lamentable fizzle. Seeing 
how hopeless was his case, he joined an American associ- 
ation in his district, then comprising in its membership 
from 1,300 to 1,500. Sir, there he did solemnly promise that 
if elected he would noi, under any circumstances, vote for 
a certain man for IT. S. Senator, and on this account he was 
elected by a majority of some 900. How well he has kept this 
pledge, his speech yesterday and his acts last night testify. 
But, sir, he does not stand alone." 

Mr. Speaker, I denounce this accusation, from 
beginning to end, as false — false as the Koran. 
1 never belonged to any Know Nothing associa- 
tion in my county ; never asked that order or 
any member thereof to vote for me; never 
entered a Know Nothing lodge in that county ; 
have never had any part or parcel with them in 
that county. But, if the House will indulge me, 
I will state how I came here. I asked not to 
come to the Assembly; I could only do so at a 
great personal and pecuniary sacrifice ; but my 
friends, prompted by local interests as well as 
political considerations, insisted that I should 
respond to the call of the people. The oppo- 
nents of slavery extension and the friends of 
temperance — and they constitute at least four- 
fifths of my constituents — insisted that I should 
consent to be a candidate, believing that I could 
be elected. I knew, sir, that some man would 
be chosen by this legislature to serve the state 
for the next six years in the Senate of the 



so well fill that place as Mr. Sewafd, I yielded 
to the personal solicitations of my friends, and 
took the nomination from the Whig party of my 
district. I never pledged myself to vote against 
Wm. H. Seward, but, ,on the contrary, I stood 
committed by every political act of my past life, 
and now stand committed by those acts, to vote 
for Mr. Seward, or some person etjually sound 
and influential in his advocacy of human rights, 
for the high position of United States Senator. 

In regard to the contemptible charge that I 
cringingly sought the nomination of the temper- 
ance party of my district, 1 have only to say, sir, 
that when, a year since, I was elected, and when 
the temperance question was, as at the last elec- 
tion, a prominent subject of discussion, I refused 
to pledge myself in regard to the course which I 
would pursue in the legislature. But notwith- 
standing this refusal, my constituents gave me 
their suffrages ; I came here, and when here I 
voted on the side of humanity — for the Maine 
Law. My act was more expressive than a 
pledge; and yet, a few men last fall — friends of 
the Democratic candidate — under the guise of 
temperance, and without the knowledge of a 
great majority of the well-known temperance 
men in the district — and without the usual published 
notices — held a convention in a remote town in the 
county, and placed him, an honorable man, before 
the people, as the temperance candidate. When 
this became known, the real friends of temper- 
ance in the district — without secresy and with- 
out disguise — called, by public notice, and held 
a convention (fully attended by delegates from 
all the towns in the district), and, without my 
solicitation or knowledge, placed me in nomina 
tion. It was a movement solely of temperance 
men, who felt that it was due the cause that they 
should vindicate themselves from the charge of 
ingratitude and inconsistency. But with it, 
either in its incipient stages or in its final result, 
I had not anything to do. But the charge of de- 
ception and dishonor, based upon this movement, 
shows to what low devices and base falsehoods 
men will stoop when truth will not enable them 
to reach their object. 

The gentleman further said, sir, that I was 
pledged to oppose William H. Seward! Sir, 
rooted be my tongue to the roof of my mouth 
if I ever made such a pledge! Pledged to vote 
against William H. Seward ! . I repeat, rooted 
to my mouth may my tongue be, if ever it 
made such a pledge! I never did. I shall vote 
for William H. Seward, as my constituents 
knew that I would, because he is the best expo- 
nent, of any man in the state, of my principles — 
of their principles. 

Mr. Speaker — The gentleman from New-York 
(Mr. Pettt) further says: 

" He is surrounded by worthy companions,hatched from 
the same eggs by the same hen. Out of the Whig mem- 
bers of this House uVre are over fifty who were similarly 
pledged before their election, but who now prove them- 
selves recreant in honor and patriotism. Mr. Speaker, I 
tell you, sir, that if I was a juror, and any of these men 
were brought before me to testify in a case of ih" most 
trivial importance, 1 could not conscientiously believe them. 
I say let their names be shrouded in black, and posted 
throughout the state and country, to receive the scorn and 
indignation ihey will have aroused in the minds of iheir 
honest countrymen. Let them be placed where their 
treachery deserves they should be, in that cell of inlamy 
in which our forefathers imprisoned Benedict Arnold." 

Upon reflection, I have no comments to make 
upon this portion of the gentleman's remarks — 
the written product of another 1 s brain. I will only 
add> that from his opinion I take an appeal ta 



38 



the judgment of my peers upon this floor. When 
the time of separation comes, as it will too 
soon — when party strife and party disappoint- 
ment 3hall be forgotten in the last farewell 
grasp of the hand and the dropping of the silent 
tear of friendship — then, and not till then, let 
them decide between us who best can wear the 
mantle of the infamous Benedict Arnold. 

So much for these personal matters. I pro- 
pose now, sir, to state my connection with the 
Know Nothing order, and to give my views of its 
character and tendency — an order misnamed 
American. I shall do so from a sense of duty ; 
and m doing so, I shall hold back nothing — 
"nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in mal- 
ice." If I could open my heart to the gaze of 
the world, in vindication of the purity of my 
motives, I would not hesitate to do so. 

Sir, one year ago I was a member on the floor 
of this House. I then became acquainted, as I 
now have, with men whom I learned to love. 
One evening in the month of March, a few 
men gathered around me, and, without scarce- 
ly a word preliminary, asked me if I would 
accompany them to hear a lecture. I consented 
to do so. They were my friends. I could sus- 
pect them of no design. They escorted me to a 
certain room in this city, which I entered. These 
gentlemen, and the officers of the association to 
which I was presented, assured me that I was to 
be asked to do no act, to take no obligation, which 
would, in the least degree, interfere with " my 
duties to myself, my family, my country or to my 
God." Upon such a broad platform I was wil- 
ling to stand. The promise to be exacted was 
read. I took that promise, not an oath. In 
stating this, do I commit perjury? If so, let 
my enemies make the most of it. But, sir, what- 
ever my course may seem to be in the eyes of 
man, in the eyes of Heaven, I feel in my con- 
science I am justified. I believe, sir, in an here- 
after. I try, humbly, to act in view of that here- 
after. And, sir, with a full sense of my responsi- 
bility to a higher power, and with a conscious- 
ness of what I say here now, I desire but to re- 
peat, if what I have said shall appear, in the eyes 
of my foes, as involving perjury, let them make 
the most of it. 

But, sir, no honest, unprejudiced man will 
charge me or my associates with the violation of 
even an honorable obligation, much less an oath. 
This one evening was the extent of my connection 
with the order ; I never returned again, there or 
elsewhere. 

I am. sir, opposed now, as I shall ever be op- 
posed, to the order known as Know Nothings. 
But I must not be mistaken in this connection. 
I approve of some of the principles of that order, 
as professed when the order was originally insti- 
tuted. But I detest the base uses to which it 
has been reduced, and abhor the principles to 
which it has been prostituted by those into whose 
hands it has become a huge and corrupt political 
engine. 

But I propose to enter upon a brief review of 
what I believe to be the present principles, pur- 
poses and tendencies of the Know Nothing order. 
And here I will state, what I omitted in the 
proper place, that when I left the room, into 
which I had been beguiled to hear a lecture, I 
never returned again. I was satisfied with what 
I had learned I was convinced that it was or 
would soon become no place for an honest man. 
But I locked up in my bosom the names of those 



who accompanied me and whom I saw there, 
and at the day of my death those names will not 
be revealed. Thus far I deem myself honorably 
bound ; no farther. 

For the facts which I shall state I am indebted 
not to that one brief visit (for what I then learned 
has long been public), but to information derived 
from gentlemen of character, gentlemen formerly 
high in authority in the order, and upon whose 
statements I can implicitly rely. Further, I have 
in my possession the books containing the oaths 
and obligations, as used up to a recent date. 
Those now in use are still more infamous and 
exacting. I refer to those of the second and 
third degree, to which the mass of members do 
not belong. 

Heretofore, in our elections, foreigners have ex- 
erted an undue influence. Leading men in both 
parties have too much sought to influence the for- 
eign vote. I have looked abroad to see which 
party was most at fault ; and I reached my conclu- 
sion by results — the success secured to whichever 
party that vote was given. That was the best 
test j and by its application, I found that this vote 
was most generally unitedly arrayed against the 
Whig party ; and particularly was this the case in 
the last presidential election. The entire fore^n 
votewas castagainst Gen. Scott; althouth Mr. Sew- 
ard (who is charged with excessive friendship 
for and influence over those who cast that vote) 
very anxiously desired his election. If he had 
had the influence he is accused of possessing over 
this vote, do you suppose that it would have been 
cast against his favorite candidate for the presi- 
dency ? No, sir. 

But, sir, in what I have said I do not wish to 
be understood as desiring to interfere with the 
emigration to this country. Let the oppressed 
and down-trodden come among us. They will be 
welcome. Homes, happiness and protection 
await them. But I would not have them rule 
us, or so combine their power as to work mis- 
chief upon our institutions. In this many sympa- 
thised with the originators of the American move- 
ment. They thought it right — to resolve to vote 
for no man for high office not native born. If this, 
the original purpose of the order, had been adher- 
ed to, not 130,000, but half a million of freemen 
would, to-day, have been enrolled in the ranks 
of the so-called American party. But the or- 
ganization fell into dishonest hands. Unprinci- 
pled men became^ its masters, and diverted it 
from its purpose — to meet combination by com- 
bination, and to rem erit for the iuterest of all 
political parties to give position and prominence 
to native born, rather than to foreign born aspir- 
ants. This is what it was designed to be in its pu- 
ritty ; that is, not a political party, but a combina- 
tion of men of all parties, to compel political par- 
ties to make proper nominations. But what has it 
become ? Is it an institution to which a free and 
honorable man should or cau belong — to which a 
Christian or patriot can belong? Not, sir, when 
he comes to understand its designs and the char- 
acter of the men into whose hands it has fallen. 
The great mass of those who are in it are honest. 
They went into it to aid in the accomplishment 
of a good purpose, or were inveigled into it by 
political tricksters and managers. But they can- 
not remain in it. To do so, renders tbem parties 
to the base purposes to which the order is being 
employed. 

In July last a state constitution was adopted. 
The grand lodge was combined with some other 



39 



organization, and it is now called the grand 
council. What are its present objects ? 1 find 
that it has an officer called the grand president. 
The name of that officer is kuown; aud here 
there must have been a violation of the oath, 
otherwise the name of this grand president ol 
the grand council of the State of New-York 
would still have remained a secret. He exer- 
cises a power, to-day, equal to the power exer- 
cised by any monarch in Europe. And yet we 
know not of it; nor can those who have not ex- 
amined into the secret and intricate machinery 
of this order. What is his power? Of what 
does it consist? How can it be exercised? I 
will tell you, sir. This grand president was 
aud is empowered to appoiut, upon his own mo- 
tion, and without the knowledge, permission, 
sauction or counsel of any other man, one deputy 
lor each county. Now, with such a power, what 
would a designing, ambitious man do? He 
would select as such deputy a person who w uld 
act as his second self. And if selected with 
the same sagacity — with a view to the com- 
bination of zeal and unscrupulousness — in other 
counties as in my own, he has chosen men 
who will do his bidding in every county in the 
state. And what then follows ? These deputies 
alarmed with power to create podges, to any 
number, in every town, city, village and hamlet in 
the several counties. How is this done ? He, the 
deputy, selects nine men as the number neces- 
sary to constitute a lodge or council, and admin- 
isters to those nine men the necessary oaths. The 
grand president selects a picked man, the crea- 
ture of himself, for deputy; and he again selects 
nine other men to constitute a council — to become 
his tools, as he is the tool of the grand president! 

But this is not all of the machinery of this 
grand iniquity, calling itself by the sacred 
name of American ! This is not all. What else ? 
These nine men — the chosen instruments of this 
deputy, and, through him, of the grand president 
— select three of themselves, who shall, for three 
years, be delegated to meet in the grand council 
iu the city of New-York, the grand president pre- 
siding, to make nominations and to propose oaths 
which are to bind the members of the organiza- 
tion, body aud soul — will or no will — to do the 
bidding and implicitly obey the behests of the 
grand council, which is composed of the creatures 
of the niue men, who are the creatures of the 
deputy, who is the creature and second self of 
the grand president of the grand council of the 
State of New-York ! Was ever scheme so iniqui- 
tous conceived to enslave any people? And what 
freeman, what American can, with eyes open to 
the monstrous iniquity, continue to be thus tram- 
meled ? 

Sir, I state facts. I know the truth of what I 
assert. But if I did not, the flushed countenan- 
ces and angry glare which I see all around me, 
would be a demonstration of its truth. But, sir, 
I have nut done with this iniquitous organiza- 
tion. 

Suppose, Mr. Speaker, there are two hundred 
councils in the state. Aud suppose, sir, that 
these six hundred men — three from each council, 
the creatures of the deputies, who are the crea- 
tures of the grand president, Mr. Barker (for 
such is the name of this dignitary) — are sent to 
New-York to meet in grand council. James W. 
Barker is chairman of that council, and he has 
before him these six hundred creatures of the 
deputies who hold their office at his will. Think 



you, sir, that these men would be likely to be 
made up of refractory material ? Would it be 
very difficult matter for him to secure the desi 



made up of refractory material ? Would it be a 
for him to secure the desig- 
nation of such men as he could control at will, 



and do with as he pleased? And what are the 
duties of these six hundred men ? Not to make 
nominations merely, but bye-laws and oaths, 
also, to be subscribed by every man in the or- 
ganization, whether he got there from his own 
free will, or to hear a lecture — oaths, not to bind 
men in the future, but ex post facto oaths— oaths 
reaching backward to the past ! These are 
among the duties of this grand council, thus con- 
stituted ! 

Now, sir, no such monstrous scheme was in 
the minds of those who originated the order. 
It was simply designed as an instrument with 
which to counteract the combination of the for- 
eign vote — of men, American neither in feeling, 
birth nor conduct. But to accomplish this pur- 
pose, it was not deemed necessary to constitute 
it an independent political organization. It al- 
lowed men to cherish their own political predi- 
lections or faiih — to adhere to, while seeking to 
purify, their several parties. One person, as a 
Whig,could vote for aWhig — an American Whig ; 
and another, as a Democrat; could Yote still with 
nis party for American Democrats. 

But, sir, not now is this the simple purpose of 
the order. That it is not, there is abundant 
proof. I have before me the Daily Times of 
December 4, 1854; and what I am about to read, 
no man will deny either its genuineness or truth. 
It was copied from a document to which was af- 
fixed the 6eal of the grand council. It is as fol- 
lows : 

THE KNOW NOTHINGS. 

Proceedings of the Grand Council of the State of 
New-Yoek. 

[official report.] 
Office of the G. C, No. 128 Nassau-street, ) 
New- York, Nov. 17, 1S54. \ 

Brother: In accordance with the instructions of the 
Grand Council, we transmit to you a copy of its proceed- 
ings at its late session, Nov. 14, 15 and 16, 1854. 

By Worse, of Council 28 : 

Itetolved, That no delegate be admitted from any Coun- 
cil to this State Grand Council who has repudiated the 
acts of the Grand Council, and that, each delegate who will 
not sustain the State ticket be expelled. 

Motion to reconsider lost. 

Immediately after the passage of the above resolution, it 
was decided that each brother should announce his name 
and dumber of Council, and state for whom he voted at 
the Tate election. Brother Kiddle of Council No. 324, 
Brother Anthon of 243, and Brother Jenmngs of 242, re- 
fusing to answer, were requested to retire until their cases 
should be investigated. 

Ei8olmed, That any delegate who shall refuse to answer 
the questions proposed to him by the de'^gutes now p sent, 
or who voted or used his influence lor any other than 
the American ticket, headed. Daniel UllmanS, be ex- 
pelled. '' 

Here, sir, we see, first, that no delegate was 
to be admitted unless he would swear that he 
had voted, at the then late election, the ticket of 
the order. Yes, sir, before a man should be per 
mitted to take his seat in this council of conspi- 
rators, even though he were the son of a revolu- 
tionary sire, he must swear that he had voted the 
ticket headed by the name of Daniel Ullmann ! 
— must swear that he had slavishly surrendered 
the dearest birthright of an American citizen, 
and marched to the ballot box with the shackles 
of the order around him! Shame, 6hame upon 
such a desecration of the name American! 

And, secondly, sir, any delegate who could 
not purge himself, by oath, of the crime of hav* 
ing exercised the right of an American citizen, 



40 



should be "expelled" from the council! Sir, 
since this Union was formed, has there been 
kuowu an organization so despotic? Nay, sir, 
is there among all the monarchies of Europe one 
so despotic'? Descendants of rat-n who fought 
in the revolution were cast out from this council 
because they dared to exercise, according to 
their best judgment, the right of an American 
freeman. Was ev#r before anything heard of 
equal to this in infamy, to require a free man to 
lake an oath before James W. Barker and his 
servile creatures that he has not done what the 
constitution says he may do — deposited a ballot 
freely and fearlessly — or be cast out as evil from 
the fellowship of these conspirators and traitors ? 
Sir, man after man has been expelled from this 
•American" order because he voted for the pre- 
sent chief magistrate of this state. Why should 
this be 1 Who is Gov. Clark, that such an in- 
dication of preference for him should subject an 
American to such an indignity ? Is there any- 
thing base or criminal in casting a vote for such 
a man? Does the having cast such a vote de- 
base a man in the eyes of the people ? Is Gov. 
Clark not an honest man-— a firm, unflinching 
and consistent representative of the principles 
of the Whig party, and a man whose sympathies 
are on the side of freedom and humanity? 
What crime was there in voting for such a man? 
Yet. for having done so, men have been expelled 
from this "American" order. American.' Such 
an o ganization, thus corrupt and despotic, has 
nothing either in its character or its present ob- 
jects — deserving of the name of American. No, 
sir ; and I stop here to make a prediction, that 
in twenty-five months there will not be one hun- 
dred, of the one hundred and thirty thousand who 
are now said to be enrolled on its books, who 
•will even confess that he belonged to such an 
organization — so villainous, corrupt and infamous 
in its schemes. I believe so, sir, because I be- 
lieve that, of these 130,000, very few comparative- 
ly are now cognizant of its corrupt and infa- 
mous purposes, or of the villainous designs of the 
men who control it. It is managed by schemers 
and demagogues. Who are they ? Who are at its 
head? Who are its executive committee ? Not 
a man — I will not go so far as that — scarcely a 
man who is not equally destitute of reputation 
and character ; aye, sir, men whose names are 
enrolled upon the calendars of crime in the city 
of New- York — men steeped in crimes of the 
deepest and blackest dye ; and I state this on au- 
thority, though I do not deem it proper at pre- 
sent to name the men. I repeat, sir, the men 
who pull the wires of this infamous political 
machine-^who make deputies and councils and 
by-laws and oaths at pleasure — are some of them 
criminals, known to be criminals from the record 
and from well authenticated report. When these 
facts are known to the 130,000 who are moving 
at the nod of these base men, think you they 
will longer submit their wills, their consciences, 
their free rights, to their keeping T No, sir, no ; 
the spirit of true Americanism will spurn such 
control. 

I omitted, in the proper place, another and im- 
portant link in this complicated chain forged to 
manacle the free limbs of free men. The nine men, 
who are selected by the deputy to constitute a 
council, or any .five of them (even though the 
council may have 500 members) .have the right 
to blackball whoever is proposed, if he is .not 
the sort of man they desire to have in the .coun- 



cil ! They have a right to reject any applicant. 
Is this democracy — five men ruling in a council of 
50 or 500 ? But it was necessary. Why ? Be- 
cause, if this power was not conferred upon the 
creatures ot the creature of the grand president, 
James W. Barker might lose the control of the 
councils, and so, ultimately, of the order ! Bar- 
ker appoints the deputy — the deputy selects the 
nine to form a council — these nine select 
three of their own number to act as delegates 
for three years to the grand council — and any five 
of the nine can reject any honest man who may 
apply for admission, and who they may believe 
might be dangerous to the accomplishment or 
their dishonest designs. The scheme is perfect. 
Nor can its machinery be changed but by the 
will of the grand president I The 130.000 mem- 
bers of the order have no voice in the election of 
their delegates. It has been said by some mem- 
bers of the order — you see, sir, there have been 
a great many members of the order regardless of 
their oaths — it has been said, I say, thn the 
councils can instruct their delegates, and thus 
counteract any evil design which may be cher- 
ished by the grand presideut. This is plausible, 
but it is not truthful. The constitution or by- 
laws give the delegates the right to appeal to the 
grand council. So that, if the instructions do nofe 
chime with the purposes of the grand council or 
the grand president, as his creatures constitute 
the tribunal to which the appeal is made, the 
councils instructing these delegates will be over- 
ruled. It is a most perfect scheme of villainy 
and corruption. But these things are not known 
to the mass of the order. They were not known 
by me until within thirty days ; and 1 here, in 
my place on the floor of this House, vouch for the 
correctness of everything I have stated. 

But, sir, let us go one step farther, and so c >me 
one step nearer to matters immediately before 
us. At the December meeting of the graud 
eouncil, the following resolutions were adopted : 

Resolved^ That this Grand Council recommend that 
each Assembly District in this State send to Albany one 
person, to use his influence to secure the election of a mem- 
ber of this organization as a United States Senator, and 
that said person go to Albany as early as the 1st oi Februa- 
ry next; lhat such persons be chosen by the several Coun- 
cils of this Grder, one from each Assembly District; and 
for the purpose of more effectually accomplishing this ob- 
ject, this Grand Council use their influence to prevent 
Whig and Democratic caucuses previous to election. 

Resolved, That hereafter no Delegate be admitted to the 
Grand Council whose Council is in arrears to the Grand 
Council. 

Resolved, That a Committee be appointed whose duty it 
shall be to devise the best means of dealing with offending 
Councils. 

The following is the report of the Committee asadojitT'd : 

Your Committee, to whom was referred the subject of the 
standing, &c, of certain Councils, deputies of counties and 
districts, as also individual members of such Councils, who 
have not acted in compliance with the action of the Grand 
Council as to the uomination made at the recent session of 
said Grand Body (held Oct. 5, 1854), to be supported by 
this Order at the then approaching election, and who did 
not support the ticket then nominated, by their vote or oth- 
erwise, — and to devise ways and means for the immediate 
disposal of ihe case of such Councils, deputies and mem- 
bers, beg leave respectfully to report the following: 

Resolved, That the present representatives to this Grand 
Council be, and they are hereby, instructed to inquire into 
the standing of the Deputies in their respective and ad- 
joining counties and districts, as to whether they yielded 
obedience to the requirements of this Grand Council in the 
recent nominations of this Grand Body for State officers, 
by supporting such nominations by their vote and influence; 
and if such deputy or deputies did not yield said nomina- 
tions their cordial ajid hearty support, said representatives 
immediately report said brother to the Grand President, 
together with the name of a brother in the district or coun- 
ty to which said representative may be attached respective- 
ly, who did so jield his support ajid influence, and that cor- , 



41 



dially, to said State ticket, as a suitable person to be ap- 
pointed such District Deputy, to supersede the present un- 
worthy incumbent, and that said brother so reported be 
immediately removed from his office as such District Dep- 
uty by the Grand President, ami superseded in his office by 
the appointment of such recommended brother, or some 
other suitable brother, by the Grand Council. 

Resolved, That thereupon it shall be the duty of each 
District Officer, with the aid of the Delegates afotresaid, to 
report the standing of each and every Subordinae Council 
within the jurisdiction of such District Officers respectively, 
to the Grand Council ; and in alt cases where the majority 
of the members of such Subordinate Council shall have dis- 
regarded and not supported by their vote and influence the 
nomination heretofore made by this State Grand Council as 
aforesaid, or the Subordinate Councils, through the majority 
of the Delegates to any Convention held for the nomination 
Of candidates to be by said Councils respectively supported 
in the recent election, they shall be immediately disbanded 
by the Grand President, and excluded all participation in, 
or connection with, the Grand Council, and the work, war- 
rant, and funds demanded by the Grand President, to be 
delivered to the superseding Council hereinafter named ; 
and such District Officers and Delegates aforesaid shall also 
report to the Grand President the number of brothers, at- 
tached to such Council so disbanded, respectively, as did 
fully support such nominations as aforesaid, and are in all 
respects worthy brothers, who shall, upon being so report- 
ed, be immediately instituted and fully empowered to re- 
ceive said charter, and work as a Superseding Council. 

Resolved, That the respective Councils under the juris- 
diction of this Grand Council, by their proper officers, are 
hereby instructed and required to withhold the Term Pass 
from, and forthwith expel from the Council, all brothers who 
did not, as aforesaid, fully support the nominations in the 
last preceding resolution referred to, and who retuse to an- 
swer as hereafter required, or who shall not offer an excuse 
satisfactory to the Council for such non-support ; and that 
for that purpose said officers are fully empowered to de- 
mand and require of each member of his or their Council 
that he or they do declare with uplifted hand, in open 
Council, for whom he or they voted at the recent November 
election, and excuse, if any they have to offer, for such non- 
support as aforesaid. 

Resolved, That the Grand President is hereby instructed 
and required to withhold the Term Pass lrom all Councils 
and members, except present aforesaid Representatives to 
this Grand Council, until such time as said Council and 
members respectively shall be fully reported as heretofore 
provided for. 

Resolved, That the Grand Secretary be instructed to pro- 
cure the printing of the foregoing Report and Resolution, 
in circular form, and immediately forward copies thereof 
to an approved Representative to this Grand Council, in 
each subordinate Council, to be by him distributed to ap- 
proved members thereof. 

SAMUEL J. CROOKS, 1 
TilOS. M. WOODRUFF, \ nrvmmmoa 
HIRAM F. HATCH, \ OommtUee. 
SAMUEL S. GUY, J 

New- York, Nov. 16, 1S54. 

By W. H. Richards, of Council S3— Resolved, That all 
Councils who do not accept and adopt the foregoing resolu- 
tions, that the charters be taken from them and new ones 
given to those superseding Councils mentioned. 

By Granbtjry, of Council 33— Resolved, That the third 
Article of the Constitution be altered, so as to conform to 
the Constitution of the Grand Council of the United States 
of America. 

JAMES W. BARKER, Grand President. 
JOSEPH E. EBLING, Grand Vice- President 
JOSEPH S. TAYLOR, Grand Treasurer. 

H. Farrington, Grand Secretary. 

The first of these resolutions, it will be seen, 
cal's for the appointment of a committee from 
each assembly district to appear here, in this 
hall, to dictate to members whom they shall vote 
for for Senator of the United States. Sir, does 
the constitution recognize the presence of such 
a body of men? 13 it necessary, that members 
may keep their oaths to discharge their duties 
faithfully and. to the best of their ability, that 
men, delegated by a secret order, should be placed 
upon their trail, to dog their footsteps? or ate 
members idiots, that they need keepers ? 

The next resolution requires that the " offend- 
ing council'" shall be dealt with. What is an 
"offending couucil f n Why, sir, a council whose 
members have dared in this misnamed American 
order to exercise the rights of American citizens ! 



Men who refused to vote for the ticket placed in 
nomination by the creatures of the grand presi- 
dent, without instructions to that effect by the 
subordinate councils, are to be punished ; and 
here in subsequent resolution is revealed the 
process by which punishment is to be meted 
out to these " offending" members and " offend- 
ing councils!" 

Mr. Speaker, if a deputy, appointed as I nave 
shown by J.W. Barker, grand president, did not 
yield obedience — (what a term to apply to an 
American citizen !) — yes, sir, " obedience to the 
requirements of the grand council in the recent nomi- 
nations of Ike grand body'' 1 — (tools of J. W. Bar- 
ker) — "by supporting such nominations by their vote 
and influence" he is to be reported to the grand 
president, this one-man power, and superseded as 
an " unworthy incumbent." Has it come to this 
that, under the name of Americanism, a man, an 
honest man, for daring to vote according to ihe 
dictates of his conscience and judgment, for exer- 
cising his rights as an American under the con- 
stitution, is to be adjudged unworthy? Will the 
American heart submit to this? No, sir, no. 

To be superseded : what then, by whom ? why, 
a person is selected, "a suitable brother," who 
did yield " obedience" yes, servile " obedience" to 
this grand president, to act in a position more hu- 
miliating than that of a southern slave. 

Where is the vigilant eye of the people ? Can 
this thing exist in our midst without rebuke ? 
Not long, sir, not long. 

What next ? A grand inquisition, as perfect in 
parts and more revolting in its characrer and ob- 
jects, than the old inquisition of Spain; as per- 
fect in its machinery as the ancient order of Je- 
suits. The members of this order reported to 
its general the acts of governments and leading men 
of Europe. The American inquisition reports to 
its supreme head, General Jesuit Barker, the acts 
of its own members, and those members Ameri- 
can citizens ! 

This " suitable person," " worthy brother," 
with " aid of the delegates," of the grand council 
(selected as I have before explained), " is to re- 
port to the grand council the standing of each and 
every subordinate council, &c. ; and where a ma- 
jority shall have disregarded and not supported 
by vote a£d influence the nomination made by 
the grand council" (in other words have acted in- 
dependently, as intelligent, thinking men), " they 
shallbeimmediately disbanded by the grand presi- 
dent," and the papers, money, &c., demanded by 
the grand president. The same worthy persons are 
further to report the names of such members as 
have worn and are still willing to wear the collars 
of slaves, and who are styled " worthy brothers,'' 
who shall receive the charter and work as a super- 
seding council. This speaks for itself and needs 
no comment from me. 

Let us proceed to the next, the most humilia- 
ting of all. In council assembled, members are 
to declare, with uplifted hand, for whom they 
voted at the last election, upon pain of expul- 
sion. Should the member have so far forgotten 
his allegiance to J. W. Barker as to exercise his 
own reason and vote for Mr. Clark, he is forth 
with expelled as unworthy. Sir, let us imagine 
(which has no doubt occurred) in their midnight 
conclave, honored gentlemen, who occupy seats 
upon this floor, and who are foremost in the de- 
fence of this anti- American order, coming for- 
ward at the beck and nod of the presiding officer, 
and submitting to insult and indignation which 



42 



the Russian serf would resent. Yes, sir, with 
hanging head and humble posture, criminal like, 
undergoing an ordeal like this ! What, sir, an 
American citizen submit to be questioned as to 
the exercise of his dear-bought rights! Where, 
sir, is the flashing eye and the hand prompt to 
resent insults so degrading to a freeman? Can 
these acts go unwhipt of justice ? 

And, Mr. Speaker, these resolutions have been 
sent to every subordinate council. 

Americans, citizens of New- York, the pride of 
the Union, where is your manhood and where 
your boasted rights and liberties? Surrendered 
to J. W. Barker ! But, sir, the end is nigh. The 
intelligence of our people will not long submit 
to the dictation. 

If, sir, the grand council has a right to do what 
it has done, then there is no limit to its power; 
there is nothing which it may not do. I remem- 
ber, sir, something of the history of the grand 
inquisition of Spain. I have read, also, something 
of the order of Jesuits, that flourished in years 
long past. And yetin the inquisition, or in the or- 
der of Jesuits, numbering only about 20,000 in all 
the countries of Europe, there existed not a power 
equal to that which exists in this grand council 
to bind the consciences, control the will and fet- 
ter the rights of the American citizen. Where 
will this thing stop ? Members on this floor have 
received threatening missives from councils, who 
long ago have sent in their resignations to the 
order, that they might not be hampered in the 
discharge of their duties here. But no, sir, they 
had not the power to resign ! They are coolly 
informed their resignation could not be accepted. 
Who knows but the thumb-screws of the inquisi- 
tion may yet be introduced as an instrument of 
torture upon the refractory. Where will this 
end? Those in whose hands the order now is, 
will, you may be sure, stretch their power to 
the last point that it will bear. But, thank God, 
the time is coming when their power will be 
broken. Once publish abroad these facts, and 
let men see what a gigantic tyranny is springing 
up amoDgst us, and they will put their heel upon 
it. Americans will never submit to yokes of op- 
pression bound and doubly riveted like this. 

But, sir, I still have another document which 
1 wish to have read, to show that the iii^isitorial 
character of this order is already beginning to 
work its legitimate and prober results: 

At a general meeting of members of the order, of the 
city of Brooklyn, held at the corner of Court and Sacket 
streets, on Friday evening, Nov. 24th, 1854. for the purpose 
of considering the late aeiionof the Grand Council, the fol- 
lowing preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopt- 
ed ; and it was resolved that the same be printed, and a 
copy thereof forwarded to each council in (his state : 

Whereas, The action of the Grand Council ot the State 
of New-York, at their late session in October last, in making 
an independent nomination tor state officers, without in- 
structions to that effect from the subordinate councils of the 
state, and without giving them an opportunity to partici- 
pate in the selection of such candidates, and when no ne- 
cessity existed for such a course, inasmuch as GOOD MEN 
and TRUE had already been nominated by the great po- 
litical parties of the state, the nomination of some of whom 
was affected by the direct action of this order, was a depar- 
ture from the true interests and objects of this order, an un- 
warrantable assumption of power, and in direct violation 
of resolutions adopted by the same Grand Council in June 
last; 

And whereas, The said Grand Council adopted resolutions 
presented byC hauncey Shaffer, putting an unwarrantable 
and ex-post facto construction upon the obligations of the 
member* of this order, thereby endeavoring to coerce and 
compel them by THREATS and PENALTIES to vote fori 
the candidates so nominated by said Grand Council, in di- j 
rect violation of the constitution and laws of the land, and 
subversive of the genius and spirit of our republican insti- 
tatione ; 



And whereas, The said Grand Council, at their recent 
sesssion, adopted a resolution >riainally suggested bv H. A. 
T. GEANBtTttY, requiring the members of this order, under 
certain pains and penalties, to CONFESS, under oath, 
how they voted at the recent ele/tion. in palpable violation 
of the riiihts and privileges secured to, and so highly 
prized by, every true American ; 

Therefore Resolved, That we repudiate and condemn 
the aforementioned action of the Grand Council as ANTI- 
AMERICAN, ANTI-REPUBLICAN, and the most UN- 
WAR icANTABLE, ABOMINABLE and DANGEROUS 
ASSUMPTION of DESPOTIC POWER ever attempted 
in this republic; in its CONE LSSIONAL, PENANCE and 
threats of EXCOMMUNICATION, only equaled by the 
holy INQUISITION of SPAIN, and only worthy of imi- 
tation by the GRAND COUNCIL of CARDINALS at 
ROME. 

Resolved, That any American assenting or yielding obe- 
dience to such degrading and inquisitorial requisitions 
inherits not the spirit of his revolutionary sire-, and is 
unworthy the name of a son of 76, and descends to the 
level of an ignorant Papist. 

Resolved, That we recommend our brethren to pause 
and calmly r .fleet before they aid in centralizing so dan- 
gerous a power in the hands of a body, who, however pure 
they may now be, may, at some future time, be composed 
of unprincipled meu, who, regardless of the public interests, 
will wield it for their own personal aggrandizement. 

C. J. SHEPARD, President. 

W. C. Heaton, Secretary. 

Movements like this must continue, until all 
who are now in its trammels shall be freed from 
the iniquities of this grand council — I do not say 
American organization ; until this nefarious 
political engine, in the hands of unprincipled men, 
will be repudiated by the free people of the State 
of New-York 

No such organization as this grand council, with 
its illegal oaths and infamous schemes, can long 
exist in this state. No member who has joined it 
from a misapprehension of its character can be 
bound by the oaths which seek thus to bind 
men's consciences — oaths which of themselves 
must be heinous sins. No, sir, the sin consists in 
taking, and not in breaking such an oath — in in- 
tentionally and wilfully taking such an oath, and 
not in breaking it. It would be a sin against my 
country and against my oath to support the con- 
stitution. It could be nothing less. Whatever 
may now be thought of this matter, the time will 
come when the universal opinion will be, as my 
opinion is now, that the crime consists in taking, 
not in breaking, these illegal obligations. It is 
an oath like to that to commit murder. It is a 
murder of a man's rights. Will the just Being 
call any man to account for breaking a wicked 
oath ? It is no crime to break a wicked oath, 
neither is there perjury in so doing. 

Mr. Speaker, I have read within the last fifteen 
hours — and I state it upon the honor of a man — 
an oath recorded in a pamphlet of this order, of 
the 3d degree — a degree not perhaps yet reached 
by many of the 130 000 members of the order — 
which requires a member to divulge nothing, 
even though arraigned before a legal tribunal. 

Mr. LAMPORT : I pronounce it an infamous 
falsehood. 

The SPEAKER: I may be mistaken, but only 
in this : that the requirement is in the ritual and 
not in the oath ; but by the oath members are 
bound to obey the ritual. 

Mr. LAMPORT : You are mistaken. 

The SPEAKER: Sir, I am not mistaken. If 
not in the oath itself, it is in the ritual, by which 
the member is bound. I aver that the member 
ol the 3d degree is bound not to reveal any fact 
connected with the order, under any circumstan- 
ces, even before a legal tribunal. I am not mis- 
taken in this. Sir, this infamous scheme reaches 
to the fire-side, to the ballot box, to the jury box 



43 



and to the judge on the bench. The man on trial 
knows not the secret influences which may be 
brought to interfere with his rights. An organi- 
zation like this is fearful. It must sooner or la- 
ter, if not crushed, overthrow this republic. For, 
sir, this organization is not limited to a single 
state. It has a national existence ; and a nation- 
al council was recently convened in Cincinnati. 
If the president of that council possesses powers 
equal to those conferred upon the president of 
this state convention, what may not be his am- 
bition and what the consequence ? If the oaths 
and obligations mean what gentlemen upon this 
floor would have us believe — if to break these 
oaths is recognized by members of the order as 
moral perjury, then, I say, clothe me with the 
power, give me the genius and ambition of a Na- 
poleon, and I could, if I would, be your emperor. 

Mr. Speaker, I warn gentlemen to pause and 
reflect before they proceed too far. 

Before concluding, the House took a recess to 
Four o'clock P. M. 

The SPEAKER resumed : About the time the 
House took a recess, Mr. Speaker, I made a state- 
ment in regard to the oath, or the obligation, in 
the ritual, assumed by members of the 3d degree 
of this order. I asserted that that obligation 
interfered with the duty of the man who as- 
sumed it, before the judicial tribunals of the 
country. That statement was rudely denied by 
the geutleman from Ontario. Sir, I am not in 
the habit of making false or hasty statements ; 
and in order to prove that I have not done so in 
this case, I have obtained the official document, 
which will sustain me in all that I said. 1 will 
read. The " Instructor" says : 

• 4 Instructor. — My Brothers: The order which has now 
received you as members, may, with all propriety, be con- 
sidered a secret organization. It is so secret, in fact, that 
if you were placed before a legal tribunal, and there sworn 
to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, 
you could not, for your lives, reveal the name of that band 
of brothers among whom your name now stands enrolled ; 
aad fart/ier than this, when you retire lrom this meeting, 
you will retire to your families and friends as ignorant as 
when you came, so far as the name of this order is con- 
cerned. " 

Now, sir, this bears me out in my statement, 
that the members of this organization — not the 
masses, for they know nothing of this — assume 
to deny, even in a court of justice, all knowledge 
of any fact connected with the existence of this 
order. That this obligation is imposed, there can 
be no doubt. That the masses are ignorant ot 
it, I can well believe. If any proof were needed 
of this, it could be found in the fact that even 
the gentleman from Ontario (who is considered 
one of the most prominent as he is one of the 
most intelligent of the order) was ignorant of 
the existence of such an obligation as this. Hav- 
ing this document, I will not be content with 
simply calling the attention of the House to the 
paragraph which I have read. Before 1 go on. 
however, I desire to remind gentlemen that this 
order is different in character from any other se- 
cret organization known among us. Of all other 
orders, something is known of their objects, if 
not of their peculiar ritual They are benevolent 
in their character, and do not seek to interfere 
with men's rights and consciences. This order, 
in its objects as well as in its ritual, is a secret. 
Its very existence — in name or locality — is un- 
known; and instead of being frankly invited to 
become attached to it, men are beguiled into its 
meshes under the plea of being taken to a lec- 
ture. Thus it is a Be in its inception. The only 



intimation you have of it, before entering its 
doors, is a falsehood. Then you are falsely as- 
sured that in the obligation you are about to take 
there is nothing which will interfere with " your 
duty to yourself, your family, your country or 
your God." That's the first step. You are then 
led on, step by step, without the slightest know- 
ledge of the future — oath by oath ; sacrilege after 
sacrilege; amid darkness like midnight, and the 
end you know not. Yet you move onward, until 
you are drawn into and enveloped by the meshes 
of this infernal engine. This is the difference 
between this and ordinary associations. And 
here, sir, is one of the obligations of the order : 

" I, voluntarily and freely, do solemuly promise and swear, 
before Almighty God and these witnesses around me 
assembled, that I will not, under any circumstances what- 
ever, divulge or make known, to any person or persons, 
either directly or indirectly, or to any human being other 
than those whom I shall know to be good and true mem- 
bers of the order, the name, secrets, objects or mysteries 
of the same, or cause or allow the same to be done by 
others, if within my power to prevent the same. 

" I also promise and swear that I will due obedience pay 
to the constitution, laws and edicts of the Honorable Grand 
Council of the State of New-York, and to the laws which 

govern Council, No. , so far as they may 

come to my knowledge. 

" I also promise and swear that, whenever I may vote at 
any election, that vote shall, in all cases, be given lor native 
born American citizens only ; and that 1 will ever seek the 
political advancement of those men who are good and true 
members of this order." 

We have, in what is now passing before us, 
the purposes of this oath. Under it, and by the 
power which it confers upon the managers of 
the order through its complicated machinery, 
the defeat is sought of the noblest and most 
intellectual statesman at this time in the United 
States, as senator. This is the leading object 
of the association now. What will constitute 
its future great work depends upon the will 
of the grand council. Who knows but its pur- 
pose may be the repealing of the institutions of 
the country? I have learned since the House 
took a recess, and from a member of the order, 
that Barker is not only grand president of the 
grand council of the State of New-York, but of 
the national council also. I repeat in substance 
what I said in the morning- session. Had he the 
genius, intellect and ambition of a C^sar, an 
Alexander or a Napoleon, with 130,000 — or, in 
the Union, many times that number of men — 
bound by oath upon oath (prepared by him and 
his co-conspirators) to obey his injunctions and 
commands, what might he not accomplish 1 
Within two years, with the aid of revolution and 
bloodshed, he might reign as emperor — dictator* 
It is, sir, fearful to contemplate the wonderful 
and startling enginery inclosed within this organ- 
ization. No American can contemplate it calm- 
ly and prayerfully without fearful forebodings. 
Here let me warn American citizens to beware 
of secret political associations, under whatever 
plausible guise or name. I read on : 

OBLIGATION. 

" I , voluntarily and freely, do solemnly promise and 

swear before Almighty God, and these witnfsses "around 
me assembled, that I will not under any circumstances 
whatever, divulge or make known to any person or per- 
son*, either directly or indirectly, or to any human being, 
other than those wh' >m I shall know to be good and true mem- 
bers of this Order, the name, secrets, mysteries or objects of 
the same, or cause or allow the same to be done by others, 
if within my power to prevent the same. Binding mjself 
under no less a penalty than that of being excommunicated 
from the Order, and having my name posted and circulated 
throughout the differ' nt councils of the Order, as a Iraitor 
and perjurer to my God and country, and as a being un- 
worthy to be employed, entrusted, countenanced or" sup- 
ported in any business transaction whatever, and as a 



44 



person totally unworthy the confidence of all good men, and 
one at whom lhe finger of scorn r.'iall ever'be pointed. — 
Allot" which foregoing I voluntarily and freely subscribe 
to, so help me God !" 

What blasphemy and damning immorality is 
here. " A perjurer and traitor to his country and 
to God!" Th re is no escape for the victim who 
holds to the binding force of such wicked, illegal 
and infamous obligations. And, sir, after what 
1 have read, am 1 not warrauted iu saying all 
I have said ? I would not, sir, dare to trust a 
case to a jury, in which I was a party, without 
challenging that jury. But suppose I do chal- 
lenge for connection with this order: the chal- 
lenged party, if he is what I challenge him for 
being, is sworn not to tell the truth ! What, in 
such a state of facts, is to be done 1 

Now, sir, a word or two about the binding ob- 
ligation of oaths. Here is a juror, sworn on- 
the one hand to do his duty faithfully and honest- 
ly. Oa the other, he is sworn not to divulge, 
before any legal tribunal, the secrets or artiy fact 
connected with the order. My counsel inquires : 
" Are you a member of the Know Nothing or- 
der ?" What answer, if a member, can he give ? 
If he refuses to answer he violates his oath ; if 
he does answer, and answers faithfully, he vio- 
lates his oath ; and if he answers falsely, he vio- 
lates his oath also. He stauds between two oaths, 
one to his country and one to his council. What 
would be his answer? "No, I know nothing !" 

Now, sir, in view of what I have stated, sup- 
pose a man had taken the first, second and third 
degrees of this order, and had become convinced 
of its iniquity; and suppose he would come out 
openly, before the world, and dissolve all con- 
nection with it, so that he could no longer 
remain a member of it; aye, more, expose its 
iniquities, from his personal knowledge, could he 
be called a perjurer, charged with a dishonora- 
ble violation of his oath ? I take it, not, si»*. 
No man, who desires to live so as to meet the 
approbation of his Creator, would feel that he 
had committed a sin in so doing. The breaking 
of such an oath would meet with the approba- 
tion of good men and of the Almighty. 

I know, sir, there are gentlemen on this floor 
who differ from me in opinion — who believe that 
to break this illegal and wicked obligation is to 
violate an oath. If this be so, then I charge you, 
each and every one of you who have spoken in 
defence of this iniquity, with having violated 
your oaths. But I exculpate you from any 
crime in this revelation. You intended no vio- 
lation of your oaths. There is an oath adminis- 
tered to every member of the order, which re- 
quires from him implicit secrecy. Yet. one gen- 
tleman, whose high pretensions to sanctity ren- 
dered his denunciations peculiarly impressive, 
charged that certain members of this House would 
violate their oaths if they dared to vote for Wil- 
liam H Skvvard ! What oaths ? And what have 
members sworn to do who would violate their 
oaths by voting for Mr. Seward ? What oaths? 
Oaths to disregard the public sentiment — to seek 
the defeat of the Maine law — to prevent or to do, 
no matter what? Any oath, to support or op- 
pose any measure which may possibly come be- 
fore this House, and taken extrajudicially, is iu 
derogation of the oath which every member of 
this House took when he entered upon his duties 
as a legislator. The intimation that such an oath 
has been taken is a violation of the oath itself, 
by the exposure of its secrecy. With what 
grace, therefore, can the gentleman from Orange 



(Mr. Headley), who has himself violated his oath 
by intimating the existence of such an oaih, claim 
purity for himself and charge perjury upon others? 
If he does not, the people will discover the di- 
lemma into which he has plunged himself. The 
gentleman from New-York (Mr. Petty) has also 
been flippant iu his denunciations of " peijurers ' 
and " traitors;" and yet he, too, has violated this 
oath of secrecy by addressing his associate mem- 
bers as " Americans." It is in violation of the 
oath of secrecy in the brotherhood even to name 
who are members thereof. 

Mr. PETTY : In regard to that charge, sir, I 
deny that I have violated any oath by thus desig- 
nating gentlemen. I here avow myself as a 
member of the American party. I am sorry the 
honorable Speaker is not. 

The SPEAKER: 1 am, sir, an American — an 
American citizen, and an Americau in heart, soul 
and sympathy. But, sir, I am not snrh an 
" Americau" as every man understood him to 
mean those were whom he addressed as " Ameri 
cans;" all knew that he meant, not an American 
by birth merely, nor yet an American in feeling 
merely, but a member of the secret order, mis- 
named American, whose iniquities I am exposing 
and will continue to expose, regardless of the 
frowns or threats of the fraternity. The gentle- 
man cannot escape from the charge of violating 
his oath by any such petty equivocation. Every 
man knows what he meant by " a member of the 
American party." His meaning would have been 
no more unequivocal if he had spoken of them as 
" Know Nothings." As he employed the term 
" American" — a misnomer, I admit — and as he 
and those who act with him now apply that t±rm, 
it means simply this : a man who belongs to the 
Know Nothing order, and who acknowledges 
James W. Barker as his grand high priest aud 
master. When the gentleman uttered the sen- 
tence to which I refer, every man who beard him 
knew that the gentleman he addressed was a 
member of that order. Hence that geutleman also, 
as well as the gentleman from Orange, have both 
violated their oaths by revealing what those oaths 
bind them not to reveal ! How, then, dare they 
accuse others of perjury ? I now judge them by 
their own standard of morality 

Mr. Speaker, I have been informed, since the 
House took its recess that a council located oa 
Staten Island (No. 240), disgusted with the base 
part which they were required to play, and ac- 
tuated by a true American spirit, not to be shack 
led or trammeled in the free exercise of their 
constitutional rights, have formally and unani- 
mously dissolved all connection with this infer- 
nal political machine. In doing this, they acted 
the part of true Americans. It is what will be 
done by council af\er council throughout the 
state. I have a deep and abiding confidence in 
the integrity, intelligence and honesty of purpose 
of the people. They early learn, in the common 

I schools of the state, to love freedom and inde- 
pendence ; and when they become fully acquaint- 

i ed with the iniquitous character and purposes 
of this political inquisition, they will fearlessly 
throw off its trammels. Yes, sir, I have confi- 
dence in the intelligence and patriotism of the 
people. The members of this Staten Island coun- 
cil, composed of houest, fearless and true men, 
have done a noble deed — a deed worthy of free 
Americans. Their names should be engraven in 
letters of gold, and placed on the walls of this 
chamber as a monument to their honor in all 



45 



time to come, and as a warning to their country- 
men to slum and spurn all association with such 
an infamous inquisition — an organization, I Bloat 
solemnly believe, as now constituted, designed 
to prostitute the spirit of true Americanism, and 
to overthrow the freedom of the country. This 
is the object, not of its masses, but of the leaders 
of this order. 

As an illustration of the spirit of the order, the 

§entlemau from Greene (Mr. Rickerson) read 
uring his remarks a document, uncontradicted, 
which should forever not merely disgrace its 
author but the order whose spirit he has imbi- 
bed and embodies. That letter directed him to 
vote agaiust William H. Seward, and sought to 
intimidate hiir in the discharge of his constitu- 
tional duties by threats the most insolent and 
infamous. It is proper that it should be again 
read : 

Catskili, Jan., 1S55. 
Mb. M. L. Rickerson : 

Dear Sir an i Brother — I regret to bear tbat you have 

made application lor a withdrawal card from your C . 

I am pleased to hear, however, that your application was 
not granted. 

I learn, moreover, that you are pledged, and was, pre- 
vious to election or your nomination, to vote tot "W'ii. it, 
Seward 

Now, I hope that I am misinformed, and that you will be 
true to the sacred obligation you have taken, and pro- 
mises you made to me ; but it you are not you will not be 
permitted to withdraw from your C, but you will be ex- 
pelled, and notice will be sent to every C in \h\§ State 

(*ome 1,600 in number) of your expulsion ; and reasons 
why, namely, for being a traitor and a perjurer, and not 
to be trusted in any transaction ; and more than this, our 
members swear they will burn you in effigy in every vil- 
lage in the county if you do not prove true. Now, these 
are not mere threats to be forgotten, but will be earned 
out to the very letter. Now, i sincerely trope you will 
prove yourself a man in this emergency, and not be ruled 
by a party demagogue, who has always been your most 
bitter enemy, and now makes his brags that he makes you 
do everything he wishes, in spite of all your obligations 
and promises. Now, you must be well aware that if you 
vote for reward it will be your political deatb-knell ; be- 
sides, tlie promises they have made you will not be kept 
alter Sewakd is elected; you can go where you choose for 
ali they care. 

It is currently reported all over the county now that you 
have been bought with money and promises to vote for 
Seward. Every man I meet almost from the country is 
asking about you; and it seems they cannot believe you 
will debase yourself so much as to violate your oath ; and 
they all say you will do that if you vote for Seward; and 
you are as well aware of that as I am. Now, remember that 
you alone are to suffer by this course; and 1 trust and 
hope you will not do what you will regret of when too late. 

1 inclose resolutions as passed by my C, in respect to 
your vote. I also inclose resolution sent to me to forward 
to you from Lexington, they not knowing your address at 
Albany. Yours, fraternally, 

J. H. YAH GORDEN, P., 158. 

This letter is signed by the president of the 
council. It is an official missive from one of the 
creatures of James W. Barker. It threatens 
with burning in effigy, and with the brand of 
perjurer and traitcr, one of the most high-minded, 
honorable and fearless members on this floor. 
Sir, can such things be in this free land! May 
a legislator, sworn to do his duty, be thus threat- 
ened, and the order which employs such means 
to overawe the representatives of the people, 
still receive the countenance of Americans ? It 
would be an insult to them, and treason to liberty, 
to believe it. 

And, sir, in this connection, I have been in- 
formed of a fact which may not be pleasant to 
my fearless and high-minded friend from New- 
York (Mr. Leigh), that on his return to his con- 
stituents, he is to be honored wilh a coat of tar 
and feathers. 

Mr. LEIGH: No such threats move me. 



The Si'EAKEH: I have no such fears ; but if 
he should be so honored. I have no doubt he will 
receive the insult as becomes a ChiiMian. It is 
a high honor to be selected as the object of the 
malice of men who can conceive such an out- 
rage, and it is a still 'higher honor to be thus 
selected for exposing and bidding defiance to 
those who are conspiring to overawe the elector 
at the ballot box. Let the miscreants accom- 
plish their threat : one such act would do more 
to overthrow these traitors' masters than a whole 
legion of armed men. 

Sir. there is another feature presented by 
the machinery of this order which deserves 
attention. It not only manacles its victims, but 
it refuses to permit them, by any process, to free 
themselves from those manacles. The case of 
the gentleman from Greene (Mr. Rickerson) 
illustrates this fact. He became a member of 
the order. He assumed its obligations. He 
went with his associates as far as his conscience 
would allow. When elected to this legislature 
it became evident to hirr that he could not pro- 
perly discharge his duties here while holding a 
place in this order. He accordingly tendered 
his resignation. He asked to be allowed to 
withdraw from all fellowship with it. This re- 
quest was denied. What, under such circumstan- 
ces, was he to do ? There was but one course — to 
consider himself dissolved from all connection 
therewith; and this became the more imperative, 
when the council to which he had been attached 
informed him his oath required him to cast his 
vote against Mr. Seward, as senator — a man 
whom he believed to be best fitted for that posi- 
tion. His oath on taking his seat here was as 
follows : 

"I do solemnly swear that I will support the constitu- 
tution of the United Stites and the constitution of the 
State of New-York, and that I will faithfully discharge the 
duties of the office of Member of Assembly, according to 
the btest of my ability." 

The violation of the oaths of the order, he was 
told, would be perjury ! and he was told, also, 
that to vote for Mr. Seward would be a vio- 
lation of those oaths ; yet he was denied the 
permission he claimed to free himself from these 
trammels, by withdrawing from the order! 
They were determined to compel him to violate 
either his oath to the order or to the constitution. 
He chose to keep faith with the constitution 
and his own conscience; and, like the fearless 
man that he has proved himself, he has done 
what an honest man only would do, hurled back 
defiance in response to this communication, and 
declared himself free from all connection with 
the order. I honor him. and the people will 
honor him, for the noble stand he has taken. 

Now, sir, I have a word for the person who 
wrote that letter, and to the thousand men, like 
him, who have been hanging rouud this Capitol, 
and endeavoring, by like threats, to intimidate 
other members of this House. I do not object 
to gentlemen counseling with or advising, in any 
legitimate and proper way, their representatives. 
They have a right to do so. But I deny, sir, that 
they havea right tocomehere, armed with threats 
and illegal oaths, to embarrass the action and 
bind the consciences of members; even though, 
to accomplish their purpose, burnings in effigy, 
tar and feathers, and charges of treason and per- 
jury, are employed. Sir. I hope that, until 12 
o'clock to-morrow, these miscreants may be al- 
lowed to do their pleasure. The great man, 
whose defeat they seek, can suffer no injury from 



46 



their malice. He is used to storms and tem- 
pests, and has, more than any other living man, 
borne unscathed the denunciations and maledic- 
tions of his enemies. But I warn these men 
against longer abusing their privileges, aud vio- 
lating the prerogatives of the people. There is 
a law which can reach them. It is this : 

Eirimctfrom R. S., chap. 7, title 2. 

lt § 13. Each House has the power to punish as a contempt, 
and by imprisonment, a breach of its privileges, or of the 
privileges of its members ; but such power shall not here- 
after be exercised, except against persons guilty of one or 
more of the following offences : 

5. That of giving or offering a bribe to a member, or 
of attempting by menace or any other corrupt means or 
device, directly or indirectly, to control or influence a mem- 
ber in giving his vote, or to prevent him from giving the 
same." 

The penalty of thus seeking to influence the 
action of this House is imprisonment during the 
session of the legislature. Those who shall sub- 
ject themselves to this penalty could never free 
themselves from the stigma which it would fas- 
ten upon them. The president of a council in 
the county of Greene has subjected himself to ar- 
rest and imprisonment by violating this statute. 
I presume that a hundred other members have 
been similarly threatened. But let the past be 
forgotten. If, however, they shall be repeated 
after the victim of their malice shall have tri- 
umphed over them, I shall feel it my duty to en- 
force the statute. It is time an end was put to 
an order thus insolent and anti-democratic ; 
that legislators should be allowed to discharge 
their duties untrammeled by threats of tar and 
feathers, or, as in one case, with the gibbet. 

This association claims support from' the peo- 
ple, on the ground that it was formed from ne- 
cessity, to put down all cliques, factions and 
dynasties forever. That was, undoubtedly, the 
original purpose of the order, But what is now 
its object ? Where, on the broad earth, can be 
found so dangerous a clique, so infamous a fac- 
tion, so despotic a dynasty ? It is a faction, sir, 
infinitely more powerful in numbers than the 
Jesuits, for that order never numbered more than 
20 000, and unspeakably more dangerous to 
freedom; it is a dynasty more monarchical, 
more despotic, than any other human despotism ; 
and a clique more corrupt and infamous than any 
ever yet formed by man. And, sir, in what name 
is all this done ? In the name of America ! and 
under the specious cry of " America for Ameri- 
cans." 

Bar, sir, I must hasten on ; the theme is too 
fruitful to be properly discussed in an hour's ad- 
dress. I must hasten on to say one word more 
on the subject of obligations. Did not our sires 
of the revolution cast off all allegiance to Great 
Britain, when " forbearance ceased to be a vir- 
tue?" They did then what 130,000 Americans 
in this state are now called upon to do. They 
had sworn allegiance to the King of Great 
Britain. But they broke that oath when they 
found it to be in conflict with their duty to their 
country, to freedom and to their God. And the 
130 000 men now trammeled by the oaths im- 
posed upon them by a despotism infinitely worse 
and more galling than the oppressions imposed 
upon our fathers, will follow their noble example. 
They, like their fathers, will shake off their oaths 
and their tyrants at the same time. Why, sir, 
what did Great Britain seek to do ? Simply to 
impose taxation without representation. For 
that, our noble sires rebelled. What is King 
James W. Barker endeavoring to do ? Not to 



inflict a tax of a few paltry pence, but to bind 
the free minds of the free people of the state. 
Dollars and cents sink into insignificance when 
compared with this oppression. The tyranny of 
Great Britain bears no comparison 1 to the tyranny 
of this order. Free men cannot succumb to such 
tyranny. 

But, sir, I hold in my hand authority which 
no true American can disregard. The country 
and freedom owe more to George Washington 
than to any other man who ever lived. No man 
then, no man now, doubted his honesty, patriot- 
ism and ability. No other such man lived before ; 
none can live after him ; and, sir, to sustain me 
in my position, I appeal to the father of his 
country. That sacred name is used in justifica- 
tion of this order. They impiously say that it 
was instituted and is now kept up, in accordance 
with the written advice of the immortal Wash- 
ington. If, sir, the shade of that noble man 
could appear, he would now, as then, warn 
them against a combination which seeks to 
destroy the constitutional rights of the people. 
In the secret councils of this order, the following 
is read from Washington's farewell address. 
The same has been repeated by an honorable 
gentleman on this floor in support of the order : 
Extract from Washington's Farewell Address. 

" Against the insiduous wiles of foreign influence (I con- 
jure you to believe me, fellow citizens) the jealousy of a 
free people ought to be constantly awake ; since history 
and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the 
most baneful foes of republican government." 

Here the reader stops. Men who are unac- 
quainted with all that Washington has said in 
his farewell address, listen and admire. But let 
them read on and they will ascertain his true 
views. He refers to influence of foreign nations, 
and not to foreign born citizens who have sought 
in our midst a home. But let us read the con- 
tinuation. It is as follows : 

" But that jealousy, to be useful, must be impartial ; else 
it becomes the instrument of the very influence to be avoid- 
ed, instead of a defence against it. Excessive partiality for 
one foreign nation, and excessive dislike of another, cause 
those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, 
and serve to veil and ever second the arts of influence on 
the other. Eeal patriots, who may resist the intrigues of 
the iavorite, are liable to become suspected and odious ; 
while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence 
of the people to surrender their interests. 

" The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign 
nations, is, in extending our commercial relations, to have 
with them as little political connection as possible. So far 
as we have already formed engagements, let them be ful- 
filled with perfect good faith : there let us stop." 

These are the views of Washington — whose 
sacred name is employed to justify this organiza- 
tion ! It is almost a sacrilege to pervert a single 
word of the writings of this immortal man — yet 
'tis done. He who would do so is actuated by 
no love of country, and is false to the memory of 
the father of his country. But this is not all. I 
read again. Listen to his warning voice as to 
combinations or associations, under whatever 
plausible character : . 

Extract from Washington's Farewell Address. 

" All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all com- 
binations and associations, under whatever plausible char- 
acter, with the real design to direct, control, counteract or 
awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted 
authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, 
and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to 
give it an artificial and extraordinary force ; to put, in the 
place of the delegated will of the nan -n, the will of a party, 
often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the 
community ; and, according to the alternate triumphs of 
different parties, to make the public administration the mir- 
ror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, 
rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans, 
digested by common counsels and modified by mutual in- 
terests. 



47 



11 However combinations or associations of the above de- 
scription may now and then answer popular ends, they are 
likely, in ihe course of time and things, to become potent 
engines, by which cunning, ambitious and unprincipled 
men wilt be enabled to subvert the power of lh« people, 
and to usurp for themselves the reins of government; 
destroying atterwards the very engines which have lilted 
them to unjust dominion." 

Sir, the immortal Washington -when these 
lines were written, seems to have "been imbued 
with the spirit of prophecy for the benefit of his 
country. His prophetic eye could only have 
been fixed upon the events now transpiring 
around us. He has described, in language more 
clear and forcible than any which could now be 
used, the tendency and purposes of this mis- 
called American organization. Gentlemen, you 
who are members of this association — all of the 
130,000 who are enrolled in the order — before 
you take another degree in this dangerous and 
infamous order, read and ponder this farewell 
address ofc' Washington. Go no farther with 
those who desire to use you for th^r base purpo- 



bination" to strip every member of .his indepen- 
dence, and to make them bow to the will of a 
single man, or violate oaths adroitly administered 
for mere political purposes ? 

And here, Mr. Speaker, let me say a word per- 
sonal to myself, which I omitted at the proper 
place. I have been accused of having sought 
and obtained the nomination of the order in my 
county. This charge is untrue. My opponent 
had the nomination of that organization. Two 
leading citizens of my county — one holding a 
high office under the general government, and 
the other the mayor of my city — visited every 
town in my district, and used this argument, and 
no other, against me, viz., that the members of 
that order were bound by their oatlis to vote for 
my opponent and against myself. But, sir, my 
constituents thought for themselves. 

And now, sir, there is another question to 
which T wish to refer. In this country, where 
all men may aspire to the most honorable posi- 
tions, it is especially a proper feeling to desire 
to secure and to retain the good opinion of the 
people. I have no doubt that many men, young 
and old, have attached themselves to this organ- 
ization with a view to extend their popularity. 
I regret that they have deemed it necessary, to 
secure such a result, to adopt such a course ; but 
sir, what is popularity, aud where is it to be 
found.? [t is to be found in doing right — in fear- 
lessly and honestly discharging every duty of an 
American citizen — nowhere else. The man who 
launches his bark upon the sea of life, will never 
reach his desired haven if he allows himself to 
be driven about by every wind which meets him 
in his course. If he does so, he will become 
fickle and uncertain — challenging neither the 
respect nor confidence of his fellow-citizens. The 
man to be popular must be right ; and to be right, 
he must be conscientious in the discharge of duty, 
and hold on his way steadily, firmly and fearlessly. 
He must expect to meet, but he must face and 
overcome, every contrary wind and tempest which 
may seek to divert him from his high purpose. 
And what should be one of the high aims of 
those who seek popularity among a free people ? 
Certainly to secure equal rights and impartial 
justice to all men. Slavery is in conflict with 
this purpose. In perusing recent southern jour- 
nals, I have seen the question of renewing the 
foreign slave trade mooted. Does any man 



doubt the possibility of the accomplishment of 
this nefarious scheme 1 Let him remember that 
eighteen months since no man in this Union, save, 
perhaps, the author of the plot himself, believed 
there was any danger of the passage of a bill to 
extend the curse of slavery. But what have we 
seen ? The Nebraska iniquity is now the law of 
the land. The compact which secured that 
territory " forever" to freedom, and which was 
scarcely less sacred than the constitution itself, 
has been abrogated, and that vast region thrown 
open to the entrance of slavery ! This territory 
is now being settled by men who sold their fel 
low-men in bondage. If this has been accom- 
plished so soon and so easily, why may not the 
South hope to reopen the slave trade ? The 
South is determined to add state after state to the 
dominion of slavery, and it is for this that Nebras- 
ka has been polluted. The facility with which this 
last plot has been consummated has encouraged 
them to propose still further encroachments ; and 
success now is not less improbable than success 
then. 

In this emergency, what is the duty of those 
who desire to stand well with a liberty-loving 
people? To allow slavery to sweep over the 
land, or to say to slavery ''thus far, but no fur- 
ther!" No true man can doubt where duty 
leads. The North can no longer succumb to 
slavery. It must assert its rights, and it will do 
so. The next attempt at encroachment will 
raise a tempest of public opinion which will 
sweep away this pro-slavery order of Know 
Nothings as the antumn leaves are swept before 
the gale. Liberty is a pervading sentiment of 
the North. It must and will prevail. Then let 
the young men of the legislature array them- 
selves upon the side of freedom. That would 
secure to them true popularity — permanent, hon- 
orable and enduring. But no such popularity 
could be secured by them through the agency of 
an order, infamous in its character, and array- 
ed by its managers against right of speech and 
right of suffrage; and I trust, when the next tor- 
nado shall sweep over the land, that they may 
be prepared, by doing right, to receive the 
approbation of their countrymen. 

I wish ; in this connection, to refer briefly to the 
very able and eloquent remarks of the gentle- 
man from Ulster (Mr. Gates). I was gratified 
to hear him do justice to the fame aud principles 
of William H. Seward; but in the course oi his 
remarks he said he was opposed to some of the 
views of that gentleman in regard to foreigner.?, 
who were corrupting the elective franchise; but, 
could corruption be found or feared from any 
source equal to that embodied in this Know No- 
thing organization ? And if, as he says, the 
territory consecrated to freedom by the Missouri 
compromise should remain free, now is the time 
to aid in effecting that result. By no single act 
can the encroachments of slavery be so effec- 
tively checked aud rebuked as by the election of 
William H. Seward. But, sir my friend, with 
all his admiration for Mr. Seward — an admira 
tion which he expressed in eloquent and glowing 
language — regretted that he was not imbued 
with the American sentiment. Sir, there exists 
not in the broad Union a man more truly Ameri- 
can than William H. Sewabd. Did my friend 
ever fix his eyes upon a perfect man ? Does 
he expect to cast his vote for such a man 1 If 
so, sir, he will be disappointed. Perfection ex- 
ists nowhere in this world. Select whom he 



48 



may — the best living specimen of man — he will 
still find imperfection. All men have their 
weaknesses, iheir faults or their eccentricities. 
The only defect which my young and eloquent 
friend discovered in Mr. Seward's character was 
his want of sympathy with the American senti- 
ment. If that be his only fault, then I know 
who will receive that gentleman's vote for the 
office of senator ; because I believe he thinks, 
w r ith me, that at this moment the foreign influ- 
ence complained of is nothing in comparison 
with this great question of slavery. If Mr. Sew- 
ard agrees not with that gentleman on the sub- 
ject of Americanism, he does agree with him in 
his views on slavery. I trust, therefore, that he 
may receive his vote. 

Sir, I have said that no greater lover of his 
country lived than William H. Seward. Do 
you ask for the proof? I point you to the senate 
chamber, where it was resolved by the slave 
power that new compromises should be entered 
into with slavery. The agitation was intense. 
Whoever dared doubt the wisdom of those mea- 
sures was denounced as an enemy of the Union. 
Many tall oaks bowed and broke before the blast. 
They were rotten at heart, and gave way to the 
tempest. But William H. Seward, with the 
firmness of a hero, stood erect, hurling back, 
with calm dignity and unanswaerble arguments 
and eloquence, the sophistries and intimidation 
alike of the giants and pigmies in that assembly 
He loved his country too well to succumb in the 
hour of danger. And when the fugitive slave 
bill was introduced — a bill which was to make 
the people of the entire North human blood- 
hounds; which declared that law void that 
recognizes all men innocent until proven guilty, 
and which branded as proven criminals all who 
might be claimed as human chattels if they were 
born with a tawny skin ; when this law, as re- 
volting as it is unjust, was brought before the 
senate, where was William H. Seward? Did 
he shrink from his position? Did he prove re- 
creant to humanity? Others fled in dishonor. 
Older men, boasting greater courage, and making 
far louder pretensions to humauity and chivalry, 
shrank from the contest or passed over to the ene- 
my; but not so William H. Seward; while others 
lay prostrate, he stood up firm aud true for justice 
and humanity — unawed, unchanged, unterrified ; 
and I arri now told that such a man is no lover 
of his country — that these facts fail to prove him 
to be a true American ! Sir. no stronger proof 
could be furnished; for what is true American- 
ism, if it be not liberty, justice and equality? 
And what is true American statesmanship, if it 
be not to be imbued with these principles, and 
to possess the power to triumphantly defend 
them wherever they are assailed ? In that con- 
test, Mr. Seward gave evidence that he possess- 
ed the highest attributes of a true American 
statesman — not merely by repelling the assaults 
made upon freedom and jus'ice, but in predicting 
the results which would flow from the violation 
of those principles. He foresaw new encroach- 
ments, and predicted — what all now, not entirely 
saturated with the vile spirit of slavery, must 
admit — that there was no remedy for "agitation" 
but an impenetrable wall of law aud public opinion 
between freedom and slavery; a compact, not to 
be broken, that slavery should be shut up, forever, 
within its present constitutional limits; and there 
is uo other remedy. Nothing less will, nothing less 
should, put down "agitation;" only when the 



hope of new conquests is forever extinguished 
in the mind of the South, will they cease to press 
upon the patience and forbearance of the North. 
This is Mr. Seward's remedy for agitation. In 
proposing it ha exhibited his sagacity, and, if it 
shall be adopted, the peace which will ensue, 
and the happy results which will flow from it, 
will prove not only his sagacity and statesmanship, 
but his love of country also. I repeat, sir, no 
man is more attached than he is to the institu- 
tions of his country ; and in this wise and just 
proposition he has proved his patriotism and 
wisdom. The adoption of his views would stop 
agitation, and do no injustice to any section ot the 
country. But above all, these views are right. 
We may not interfere with slavery in the states, 
but we may say that slavery must remain where 
it is. To say so, would be to say right; to do 
so would be to do justice to the North, to the 
South, to slavery, to freedom and to the country. 
W^hen this is done, " agitation" will cease forever. 
The verdict of the civilized world would be iu 
favor of such a settlement. 

But I am met here by the assertion that in 
this, as in all his other wise projects, he is influ- 
enced by sinister and corrupt motives ! Sir, can 
he not propose any thing without subjecting him- 
self to the charge of corruption ? Even his 
good acts are denounced as corrupt. I have 
learned to believe that when a man does right he 
means right. It is the only just mode of deter- 
mining a man's real character. Acts are ex- 
pressive ; words are not things, always. Wil- 
liam H. Seward has heretofore been right, and 
for six years to come, in the Senate of the United 
States, he will remain right, on this great and 
absorbing question of slavery. 

During the next six years, sir, this battle of free 
dom aud slavery will have to be more than once 
fought. And for me, I want as my champion, in 
the senate, William H. Seward. I shall give him 
my vote; and I appeal to all who think with me 
on this subject to lay aside all their prejudices 
against the man, growing out of minor questions, 
and vote with me to send him back to the post 
which he now fills so honorably, to do battle for 
humanity and freedom. This is the duly of New- 
York; but it is just what the South desire should 
not be done. If he should now be defeated, there 
would go up a shoot of joy from every hill-top 
and valley in the land of bondage, because the 
seat of the only man they fear will be made 
vacant. They have, seen him tried; and they 
know that he is, in his championship of freedom, 
firm as the rock in mid-ocean. This is why the 
South desire his defeat ; but it is why New- York 
should return him to the Senate of the United 
Stales If this Union ever is dissolved, it will 
be dissolved because slavery is insatiable; and 
if the encroachments of slavery shall contiuue 
in the future as they have in the past, revolution 
and bloodshed must ensue. We need a man in 
the Senate of the United States who, by his wis- 
dom aud eloquence, can contribute to avert this 
catastrophe, and William H. Skward is the 
man. 

But it is objected to the return of Mr. Seward 
that he has no influence in the senate. Sir, this 
is an error — the favorite slander of his peristent 
enemies. No man in that body — on all commer- 
cial, financial and business questions — on all 
questions not identified directly with slavery and 
politics — has more influence than our distinguish- 
ed senator. His associates know him to be tal- 



49 



ented, industrious, learned, eloquent and honest. 
For these qualities he commands the respect of 
bis senatorial associates. He is on friendly terms 
with them all. They have learned to respect 
him. They believe him, on all questions of dif- 
ference, sincere and honest. As the leading rep- 
resentative of the Empire State, he stands high; 
but his power arises from his own inherent 
streugth. But it is proper that the Empire 
State should be worthily represented. No 
state is so deeply interested in the foreign 
and inland commerce of the country as 
New-York. That commerce needs the pro- 
tection which harbor and river improvements 
furnish; and other questions in which she is 
equally interested arise from time to time, which 
require, for their proper elucidation, just the 
talents aud ability which he possesses. We have 
tried him, and we have found him ever able, 
faithful aud influential. Let us try him again. 

I remember, sir, an anecdote of the early days 
of Henry Clay. He had voted for some bill 
which ran counter to the wishes of his constitu- 
ents. On his return home, as was bis wont, he 
met those constituents on the stump. When he 
essayed to address them, he failed to awaken the 
enthusiasm with which he had always before 
been greeted ; and he saw a cold frown upon 
the countenances of his auditors. He began his 
address, but there was no enthusiasm. He tried 
some of bis most impassioned periods, but there 
was no response. He was surrounded by Ken- 
tucky sportsmen. He knew every spring of their 
hearts; and he touched those springs. Said he, 



i to one of the venerable hunters who stood before 
I him with downcast countenance, and almost tear- 
ful eyes, M My friend, has your trusty rifle ever 
! missed fire ?" " Yes, once." " Whatdid you do — 
did you cast itaside as useless for thatone failure ?" 
" No ; I picked flint and tried again." " Very 
well ; I have missed fire once ; and will you not 
be as merciful to me as you were to your trusty 
rifle?" The chord was touched. A burst went 
up which showed that he was forgiven. 

Now, sir, has Senator Seward ever missed 
fire ? " Once," says my young friend from Ulster^ 
I and " once" says several of my associates in this 
hall. Shall we cast him off for this one failure — if 
it be one— of not sympathising with you on the 
question of Americanism ? No, no. Let us try 
him again. Let us continue him where he is; 
for, his enemies being judges, he has missed fire 
but once. And I say all this from no friendship 
tor Mr. Seward. I can scarcely call him my 
personal friend. I never spoke five minutes 
with him in my life. He knew not me — nor I 
him. I sustain him from no personal partialities 
— but from principle. If there be any man his 
equal in all the great qualities for which he is 
distinguished, he will receive my support. 
But there is no such man. There is in this 
state, at this time, but one William H. Seward; 
and that William H. Seward will, before the 
twilight of to-morrow shall fall upon the state, 
be reelected to represent the Empire State 
in the Senate at Washington for six years from 
the 4th of March. 



REMARKS OF MR. J. T. WISNER. 



Mr. WISNER— Mr. Speaker: I was unable to 
be at the caucus of my VYhig associates on Thurs- 
night last. For this reason, I desire to say that 
I endorse with all my heart what was done by 
that caucus. Had I been there my ballot would 
have been deposited for Mr. Seward. But as I 



was not, I desire to take the first opportunity 
that has been afforded me to say, that to-morrow 
it will be my proud duty and my greatest pleas- 
ure to vote for William H. Seward, the cham- 
pion of freedom and humanity. 



SPEECH OF ME. S. SMITH. 



Mr. S. SMITH— Mr. Speaker: I have but a 
few words to say ou this subject The gentle- 
man from New-York (Mr. Aitkin) has read an 
elaberate bill of indictment against Mr. Seward. 
The specifications are strongly drawn, but they 
contain no new charges. They are just what 
have been talked about, disapproved, again re- 
iterated and again disapproved, over and over 
again, every day, for these many years. But it 
was, of course, necessary just now to revamp 
them, and the gentleman has discharged his duty 
with the skill of a first rate attorney. But those 
of us who differ with him in opinion, and who 
are challenged to prove our friend innocent of 
these very numerous if not very serious allega- 
tions, are taken at disadvantage. It is some- 
times comfortable, when attacked, to be able to 
return the blow. But where shall we strike? 
The gentleman has given us no caudidate, from 
his side of the House, to strike at — let us have a 
man, that we may revenge ourselves by virtuous- 
ly blackening At* character if we can't purge the 
character of our own candidate. In such a fight 
we might at least do as much as the respective 

7 



friends of Jackson and Adams did some years 
ago. An innocent voter — who didn't know mueh 
about political warfare — after reading the papers 
for a few weeks, was asked how he should vote. 
" Why," said he, " I shall vote for neither Adams 
nor Jackson, for they are two of the greatest ras- 
cals in the country." What I want of my friend 
from New-York, who has demonstrated so clear- 
ly that William H. Seward is a very bad man, 
is to let us know who his candidate is, that we 
may prove, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that 
he is as great a scamp as Mr. Seward! But I 
protest against being struck at without a chance 
for revenge. 

I had supposed that the principal charge 
against Mr. Seward was that he had, at various 
times and in divers manners, intrigued to secure 
the foreign vote. This charge I supposed would 
be made, as it has been ; but I did not suppose that 
the charge would lead to so protracted a discus- 
sion of the character and principles of Know 
Nothingism. Now, sir, this foreign vote hunt- 
ing is no new thing. It did not originate with 
Mr. Seward. It commenced in this very HaU, 



50 



thirty-three years ago, when Daniel D. Tompkins 
sat where you now sit, iu the then convention to 
amend the constitution, surrounded by such 
men as Ambrose Spencer, Josiah Williams, 
Martin Van Buren, &c, &c, — men of as ster- 
ling character and of as profound learning aud 
statesmanship as ever assembled in this state. 
In the constitution which they presented, they 
declared that every free white male citizen, of 
the age of 21 years, should exercise the right to 
vote. Had that convention, which was govern- 
ed by such men as Van Buren, Young, Root, 
&c, taken the advice of Spencer, Williams and 
their political associates, that ckuse of the con- 
stitution would have read differently. The right 
of suffrage would have been cuufined to Ameri- 
can born citizens. We have, ever since, been 
chasing about for a remedy against that error, 
but we have not yet arived at it by any means. 

Much has been said, of late, about changing 
the naturalization laws, as a remedy against the 
abuse of the ballot. But the naturalizatiou laws 
have nothing to do with the exercise of the right 
of suffrage. If those laws were entirely repeal- 
ed, the states would still have the right of suf- 
frage in their keeping, to be disposed of at plea- 
sure. They hold the ballot-boxes in their own 
hands, and they only have the right to open and 
shut them. And. yet we are called upon to make 
war upon Governor Seward, because he has 
courted the foreign vote. 

But, sir, I dissent from those who lay the 
blame of courting the foreign vote upon the 
shoulders of Governor Seward. The party who 
have created this vote have enjoyed the benefit 
of it uninterruptedly until 1838, when Mr. Sew- 
ard succeeded in securing, by no unfair means 
either, a portion of that vote. Previous to that 
time, a few Scotchmen and Englishmen only 
were associated with the Whig party. All 
who know anything of the history of those 
times know this. The Democratic party 
controlled the foreign vote, with these slight 
exceptions, previous to 1838. Now, sir, was 
there auy thing wrong or unjust in the Whigs 
trying to divide this vote ? Those who are 
now most severe in their strictures for the part 
Governor Seward took in this effort, then found 
no fault with it. Is it because new light, or 
something else, has broken in upon their mental 
vision, that we now hear so much said against 
what, perhaps, these very men were parlies to 
at the time? But if one party deemed it to be 
right — the party to which the gentleman from 
N^w York belongs — to seek this foreign vote, 
they have no business to condemn, as doing 
wrong, those of another party who tried, by fair 
aud legitimate means, to divide that vote. For 
fifteen years past, the Whig party has divided 
this vote, to a greater or lesser extent, with the 
Democratic party ; and the result has been, that 
the state h>»s gone sometimes one way and some- 
times another. If gentlemen want to get rid of 
this f«»reigu vote entirely, let them introduce a 
resolution to provide for an amendment of the 
constitution, so that none but American born citi- 
zens shall be entitled to vote. I will go for such 
a proposition. Thirty-three years ago : I voted 
against the then new constitution because it did 
not contain such a prohibition. 
■ Aud now, sir, what about these oaths of which 
we have heard so much ? Does any one hold an 



extra-judicial oath binding when it comes in con- 
flict with a judicial oath? No man, with the 
slightest conception of his duty as an American 
citizen, entertains any such idea. Every extra- 
judicial oath is binding as a promise is binding, 
and only as a promise. When a man steps up to 
your desk, sir, and takes an oath to support the 
constitution, and to discharge his legislative du- 
ties to the best of his abilities, every other oath 
or promise, conflicting with this oath, is abroga- 
ted. But a pledge of honor, whether in the 
shape of an oath or a promise, extrajudicially 
taken or made, is of course binding, if it does 
not conflict with the constitutional oath. If the 
oaths read are correct, and if they bind those 
who take them to do nothing contrary to the con- 
stitution, there is nothing frightful in them. But 
if any man thinks they interfere with his consti- 
tutional duty, he has a right to discard them, and 
no man or set of men has a right to dragoon him 
into the traces, by holding up those oaths beforo 
him. If any memberthinks William H. Seward 
is the best man to be sent to the Senate, he should 
vote for him, regardless of any but his constitu- 
tional oath. He should seek for the best man, 
aud when found, he should do as his conscience 
dictates. That is as 1 shall do. 

I will not, Mr. Speaker, laud William H. Sew- 
ard as a perfect man. He is, like the rest of us, 
human. 'But, sir, he holds a high pre-eminence 
among fallible men, and I know of no man for 
whom I would rather vote than for hi in. He 
combines more of the high qualities necessary 
for the position which he occupies, and holds to 
more of the principles of which I approve, than 
any other man. I do not deem him a demi-god, 
nor a saint to be hereafter ennonized by the Ko- 
man Catholics, notwitlv ending it is said he is 
among the saints they now worship. Nor do I 
believe he has, even in their opinion, entitled 
himself to be canonized by them. 1 have no 
doubt they tried to make something out of him, 
and perhaps he tried to make something out of 
them ; and in this mutual and friendly rare, I am 
free to say that, adroit as Bishop Hughes may be, 
1 don't believe he succeeded very often in over- 
reaching Governor Seward. I think he got his 
full share of the advantages which may have 
acrued. And now that we are near the close of 
this debate — of which I am very glad, and would 
have been quite as well content if it had never 
been brought up — I hope we may, .when the 
time comes to vote, -vote 6o as to promote the 
best interests of the state and the country. 
The resolution (upon which this debate has 
hinged, but of which we have scarcely heard a 
word) will doubtless receive the vote of every 
member on the floor, and it probably would have 
done so at the outset, for I do not believe that any 
one's mind has been changed by all the debate we 
have had, yet I suppose it will be kept up until 
12 o'clock to-morrow. Members would find it 
very difficult to settle down into the ordinary 
routine of legislation, until this great question is 
decided. My mind is now as it has been from 
:he first. I shall discharge my duty to the best 
of my ability, aud vote for Williabi H. Seward, 
without fear or favor, and regardless of any oath 
or obligation other than that which I assumed 
when I entered upon my duties as a member of 
this legislature. 



51 



SPEECH OP MR, E. FITCH. 



Mr. FITCH said: The gentleman from Orange 
(Mr. Headley) says he has been accused of deal- 
ing in strong language. He did, indeed, use 
strung language. He evoked the storm and now 
complains of its fury. He was the first to refer 
to 4i oaths," did to bandy the epithet of "per- 
jury" around this hall. He did not, perhaps, 
then suppose that such a reference, in the offen- 
give language he employed, would awaken a 
tempest." This was not its purpose Its pur- 
pose was not to arouse, but to overawe and in- 
timidate. But he mistook the character of the 
material upon which his experiment was made; 
and he uow shrinks from the peltings of the storm 
which he evoked. But why were oaths refer- 
red to, and why the flourish about their ''record 
in heaven," if not intended, as the crack of the 
slave-driver's lash is intended, to drive the cring- 
ing menial to do the work of his master ? He 
says he had no reference to oaths, as binding 
men to violate their consciences ! Why, then, 
were they referred to at all? But the idea was 
in every man's mind, who heard him, that he did 
referto oaths taken in secretcouncil; and the legal 
deduction was that those oaths, and not the oath 
taken here, were, in his opinion, to govern the 
actions of the members of this House. If this was 
not the legal inference to be drawn from that 
gentleman's remarks, what inference could be 
drawn from such a reference at such a time? 
True, in commenting upon the action of mem- 
bers, he did refer to the binding force of party 
ties. But that was one of the gentleman's incon- 
sistencies; first to appeal to the greater tie of an 
11 oath," aud then to the lesser tie of party obli- 
gations. He called upon members to throw off 
party ties, aud then referred to their party oaths 
(which were stronger than were party ties) to 
show that they could not do what he seemed^to 
apprehend they were determined to do ! 

Why, sir, was that gentleman selected by his 
associates to taunt members with the oaths they 
had taken? why was be chosen to call up the 
ghastly spectres of broken obligations? why was 
he en) powered to remiud the House, in terms of 
sepulchral solemnity, that " oaths live forever?" 
Was it, sir, because he had exhibited, as an author, 
his skill in painting scenes of carnage and blood, 
and in lilting the veil from the pallid features ot 
the ghastly dead upon the battle field ? He was 
known to possess a powerful imagination; and 
who so well as he could paint the horrid crime 
of violated oaths, or ring so effectually all the 
changes upon the charge of perjury, in order to 
drive members into the support of some olher 
candidate for U. S. Senator than the man who 
was so clearly the first choice of a majority of 
the House ? Explain as he may the insulting re- 
marks which fell from his lips, they remain, sir, 
on record as a vile effort to overawe gentlemen 
who have takeu obligations not known to the con- 
stitution, and to induce them to swerve from their 
convictions of duty. A more gross violation of 
legislative decorum, and a more inexcusable as- 
sault upou the independence of members, never 
was perpetrated (ban that which was initiated 
by the gentleman from Orange. No such base 
means were ever before resorted to, to control 
the opinions and actions of members of any legis- 
lative body. It has no parallel in the legislative 



history of this or of any other state in the Union.- 
Who, sir, should initiate and control legislation, 
a secret conclave or the independent members of 
a free constituency ? Have we met here to be 
governed by a secret clique — a body of men 
known neither to the people nor to the constitu- 
tion ? If so, where is our boasted independence ? 
Are not the representatives of the people, who 
are sworn to do their duty to the best of their 
ability, to be trusted? Or are we to become the 
mere bond-slaves of secret masters — of self-con- 
stituted dictators ? Sir, I for one discard all such 
interference. I have assumed no secret oath or 
obligation. I stand here free to exercise my in- 
dependent judgment in regard to all matters com 
ing before this House. I was elected as a Whig. 
My political principles, opinions and preferences 
were well known to my constituents. I have no- 
connection with any secret political order. I thank 
God that it was so — particularly since the start- 
ling revelations of the gentlemen who have pre- 
ceded me, in regard to the gigantic organization 
which exists amongst us. I cannot believe, I 
will not believe, that 130,000 American citizens — 
sons of sires who fought lor liberty and g lined 
it — who bade defiance to the concentrated 
power of England when she sought to trench 
upon their inalienable rights — could be induced 
deliberately to sell their reason, their conscien- 
ces and their independence in this manner. They 
could not have been so entrapped if they had 
understood the true character of this organization 
as it now reveals itself to our astonished vision. 
They were deceived and led along by false pre- 
tences. They cannot know that they are bound, 
as the gentleman from Orange would have us be- 
lieve, to look upon their secret oath as paramount 
to their oath to support the constitution. The 
great mass of these 130,000 men know nothing 
of any such obligation, aud still less of the real 
design of those who control the order. Thank 
God that I never was led to connect myself with 
such an order ! I can stand here to day, and say, 
fearlessly and truthfully, I am a freeman. 

The gentleman from Orange said last evening, 
by way of apology for the strong language he 
had used, that he was forced to use such language 
by the " dishonorable conduct'' of the gentleman 
from New-York (Mr. Leiqh) in the matter of the 
introduction of the resolution now before the 
House. After admitting that he had, several 
days since, accused that geutleman of dishonora- 
ble conduct, he said, last evening, that he had 
" proved it." How, by what means aud in what 
manner did he prove it ? The gentleman is too 
complacent entirely. No other member on this 
floor, I venture to say, believes that he has proved 
any such thing. But what does he assume to 
have proved? Simply this, sir: That the gen- 
tleman from New-Y'nk (Mr. Lkigh) first called 
upon the geutleman from Orange and then upon 
the gentleman from Genesee (Mr. Stevens) to 
introduce a resolution upon which he might base 
some remarks on the subject of United Slates 
Senator, for the purpose of defiuiug his position. 
Now is there anything improper or dishonorable 
in this t — anything upon which to build an ac- 
cusation of so grave a character against an hon* 
oranle gentleman ? 

But, says the gentleman, "I was left to infer that 



52 



he would, in his remarks, assume a position the 
opposite of that which he did assume." He 
does uot say that the gentleman from New-York 
told him that he w,o.nld do differently from what 
he did ; but ho inferred so. The gentleman from 
Genesee uses; the. same or equivalent language. 
But what had the gentleman from New York to 
do with those gentlemen's inferences ? If he did 
not declare explicitly that he would use the reso- 
lution for a purpose the opposite of that which 
he did use it for, what right has any gentleman 
to accuse him of ' dishonorable conduct?" It is 
a grave charge, and should not be thoughtlessly 
or recklessly made. In this case, the charge is 
gratuitous, unfounded and unwarranted. I say 
this injustice to the gentleman from New-York, 
and as a duty which one member owes to anoth- 
er. We should not sit quietly by and hear a 
fellow member traduced. It is some one else 
to-day ; it may be ourselves to-morrow. It is 
proper, therefore, that we should stand up for the 
rights of each other, when right— <-not when 
wron-j. It is not the fault of the party assailed 
that his assailants were disappointed. They ex- 
pected a philippic against, not a eulogy upon Mr. 
Seward. But he promised neither the oue rtor 
the other ; with them, however, " the wish was 
father to the thought." 

j.n enumerating his griefs, the gentleman from 
Orange complained of the Speaker for, having 
" descended from his chair" to justify the conduct 
of the gentleman from New- York. But what was 
there wrong in this.? Are the people of Oswego 
to be disfranchised on this floor because we have 
selected their noble-hearted, intellectual and elo- 
quent representative to preside ovt r our deli- 
berations? It is absurd. He has equal privile- 
ges with any other member. The Speaker, when 
he desires to do so, has a right. to take his place 
upon the floor and express his views upon all 
subjects. And I am sorry to see a member, as 
intelligent as the gentleman from Oswego, making 
any complaint upon this head., 

The gentleman says he hates wrong and trea- 
chery, and despises a mean act. I accord to him 
all honorable feeling; and I only regretthat, white 
he affects to have so high a sense of the proprie- 
ties of legislative conduct, he should forget those 
proprieties when the acts of the honorable Speak- 
er are in question. 

In reply to the remarks of the Speaker, rela- 
tive to the mean and dishonorable acts of which 
members of the secret order were parties, the 
gentleman from Orange said he was sorry that 
our Governor, and that the Speaker and Clerk of 
this House, had been guilty of these mean and 
dishonorable acts. Upon what authority does he 
assert that those gentlemen are members of this 
secret order ? I kuow not whether the charge 
is true or false. He believes it, doubtless. But 
whether true or not, it is not supported by evi- 
dence. Besides, sir, when the Speaker mada 
the remark thus criticised, he added, that very 
many had been drawn into the order unaer erro- 
neous impressions of its character, and, becoming 
dissatisfied, had withdrawn all fellowship with 
it. He did not include the masses of that order 
in his denunciations ; but he expressly said that 
his remarks were only intended for, and only 
applicable to, the leaders of the order, who were 
using it to accomplish their ambitious ends. It 
was upon those he dealt his blows. 

There wasone feature of the gentleman's speech, 
last evening, so singular that it could not fail to 



attract the attention of those who heard his for- 
mer remarks. When he took the floor at the 
opening of this debate, he said, "oaths would 
live; and no man could commit deliberate per- 
jury and be at peace." Now, however, he softens 
down his phrases, and talks of "voluntary pled- 
ges !" Why this remarkable transition ? Simply, 
sir, because he sees that his former imprudent 
and insolent language had raised a storm which 
threatened to overwhelm him, and to crush even 
the order whose " oaths" he dragged into this 
discussion to intimidate the free representatives 
cf the people. I was surprised that a man who 
deals so largely in gunpowder should thus dodge 
a shot. But this change of the issue, from "oaths" 
and " perjury" to "voluntary pledges," will not 
avail him. Every one who heard him knew that 
he alluded to the oaths administered in these se- 
cret councils. He did attempt, say now what 
he may, by appeals to the fears of members — by 
referring to the pains and. penalties of perjury-r- 
to draw them into such a line of action as would 
promote the views, wishes and purposes of the 
leaders of the falsely called American party. 
This was the whole drift and aim of his remarks. 
He cannot, therefore, evade the responsibility of 
having attempted to terrify members, by these 
appeals and threats, into a course of action at 
war with their settled convictions of duty, and 
in harmony with the wishes of those who con- 
trol this dangerous organization, whose oaths 
were cited, as the slave-driver's lash is cracked, 
to overawe the unfortunate bond-men of the order. 
Has it come to this, that we, as independent 
Americans and legislators, are to be dictated to 
by an association of men outside of these halls ? 
Are we to be told that if we do not succumb to 
this dictation our political graves will be dug for 
us — that we will subject ourselves to the charge 
and to all the pains and penalties of the infamous 
crime of perjury ? If so, and if we submit to this 
outside control, what becomes of our reason, our 
consciences and our constitutional oaths 7 It 
is alrTolly to discourse of our duty to our con- 
stituents, of our obligations to the state, of our 
allegiance to our country, if the only oath to be 
regarded is that taken in the secret chamber of 
a Know Nothing council — and of perjury only as 
connected with a disregard of that oath. We 
may talk of freedom, and boast that we are free 
men ; but we will be in fact the mere bond slaves 
of the unprincipled demagogues who stand at the 
head of this order. Who does not know, who 
has seen the masses of delegated agents of this 
order by whom members are beset, that a vast 
scheme of dictation has been concocted and that 
it has been brought to bear upon the members 
of this House ? 

Mr. PETTY : To compel members to vote for 
Seward. 

Mr. FITCH: The gentleman from New-York 
need not get excited. If we shall elect Mr. 
Seward it will be in defiance of the dictation 
and pressure of this secret order — a pressure 
which, in its arrogance and intensity, exceeds 
anything ever before witnessed in this country. 

The gentleman from Orange informed us, dur- 
ing the course of his remarks, that Washington 
and his generals belonged to a secret society — as 
though we urged its secrecy as an objection to 
this new and insolent political organization. I 
make no such objection to it. I belong to secret 
societies myself. Secret societies, wholly unex- 
ceptionable in their character and purposes, may 



53 



and do exist. Their secrecy* alone is no objec- 
tion to them. The objection to this society is, 
not its secrecy, but ;ts principles, its organization 
and its purposes. It is, in its every internal fea- 
ture, inconsistent with our republican institu- 
tions — inconsistent with the principles of free- 
dom — and at war with the most sacred rights of 
the individual. It is organized for corrupt politi- 
cal purposes, and it is used by base men to pro- 
mote their own ambitious aims. Its secrecy is 
not that with which I war. I's secrecy is only 
objectionable because it keeps Irom the public 
eye its nefarious purposes. 

In informing us that Washington and his gen- 
erals belonged to a secret society, the gentleman 
forgot to add that, even though the purposes of 
that society were laudable and patriotic, it soon 
fell into disuse, because it was thought by many 
to be dangerous to and inconsistent with repub- 
lican institutions. That society was not designed 
to promote the political aspirations of its mem- 
bers. It was a society organized for humane 
purposes. Unlike this order, its objects were not 
concealed, and were inotreusive and patriotic. 
And yet it was condemned by many as danger- 
ous and unti-republicau, and very soon fell into 
disuse. The gentleman fro«a Orange should not 
have withheld these facts from the House. But 
it was necessary for his purpose to do so. If he 
had stated them, they would have made against 
the argument which he desired to enforce. Hav- 
ing supplied the omission, I leave him to enjoy the 
laurels which he has won by this allusion to the 
6ecret society of Washington and his generals. 

Mr. Speaker, " Americanism" is a glorious 
name, and one which takes us back to the days 
of the Puritan fathers, and to the men of the 
revolution. It carries us, in imagination, to the 
fields of Lexington, of Bunker Hill, of Saratoga, 
of Monmouth and of Yorktown ; to those trying 
times when the spirit of the people was aroused 
by oppression and tyranny — when they declared 
the right to tax themselves, and to drink tea or 
let it alone at their option. And it brings to our 
vision the noble forms of Wayne, and Knox, and 
Gates, and Greene, and Putnam, and Allen, and 
their associates, and Washington, the crowning 
glory of them all. And at the name of Ameri- 
cauism, we can almost hear again the halls of 
Congress resound with the eloquence of Adams 
and of Patrick Henry, and we are forcibly re- 
minded of the words of wisdom traced by the 
pen of the immortal Jefferson. Oh, there are 
glorious recollections and sweet associations 
clustering around the name! and it is owing to 
the charm in this name that this society has 
been enabled to make such rapid strides. It ap- 
pears before the world in the garb of " America," 
and announces its purpose to be to propagate 
American principles. These specious preten- 
sions give it its success. But, sir, is it American, 
truly American, in its principles? American 
principles are liberal principles. They grasp 
and comprehend the rights of all. They recog- 
nize the gre^t brotherhood of man, and seek to 
secure equality to all. They call upon all to 
exercise their rights, freely .and fearlessly, as 
conscience, reason and judgment shall dictate. 
But that is not this Americanism, as it stands de- 
veloped before us. I never belonged to the 
order, and I rejoice that I never have. Hence I 
cannot speak of it from personal knowledge. I 
rely upon the testimony of others. That testi- 
mony stands unimpeached. 



It appears, sir, in the first place that its mem 
bers take upon themselves an obligation not to 
disclose its purposes; nay, to deny, under all cir- 
cumstances, ad knowledge even of its existence. 
In this it differs from -all other secret societies. 
The existence, purposes and objects of Odd 
Fellowship are well known. They and other 
organizations have certain secret formulas known 
only to their members ; but their objects are free- 
ly disclosed to the world. But this organization 
not only keeps its objects a secret, but compels 
its members to swear not to reveal those objects. 
Why 7 If their objects are honest and patriotic, 
if the principles they inculcate are praiseworthy 
and salutary, if they only seek the public good, 
why conceal them ? This very fact, that their 
objects are thus hidden, casts upon it suspicion 
and distrust at once. Every discreet man is 
ever on his guard against those who have notori- 
ously a concealed object. And a political society, 
whose objects are concealed, should be held to 
be in antagonism to the republican institutions of 
the country. 

The general principles arid policy of this as- 
sociation were made known to us on this floor 
yesterday. From these revelations we saw that 
its tendency was to centralize power. Its entire 
machinery seems adjusted to secure such a re- 
sult. Popery itself has no more centralizing 
tendency. The mainspring of its vast and far- 
reaching machinery is in the hands of one man. 
He sits upon a throne as despotic as that of the 
Gksars, and his edicts are to be as implicitly 
obeyed. 

Mr. PETTY : The same as the edicts of the 
Albany Regency. 

Mr. FITCH: Such a centralization of power 
as this was what Jefferson most feared, and 
which he most assiduously labored to guard 
against. It is a power which every true Ameri- 
can should jealously guard against; because there 
is no power more inconsistent with the spirit or 
more threatening to the existence of the republic. 
To talk of concentrating the power with which 
James W. Barker, the eraud president of this 
order, is clothed, in the President of the United 
States, would be the signal for revolution and 
bloodshed. And yet, such a centralization of 
power in the hands of the President of the United 
States would be less dangerous than it is in the 
hands of James W. Barker; because, in the 
one case, it would be a power openly enjoyed, 
and it could be openly combated. But the 
power conferred upon the head of this order is 
secret, and every member of it is sworn to sus- 
tain that power under no less penalty than to be 
branded as a traitor and perjurer! His edicts 
are not issued in the face of day ; but in secret. 
They are not subjected to the criticism of a free 
and intelligent public ; but are received as they 
are issued, in secret — not to be discussed and 
scrutinized and criticised ; but to be unhesita- 
ting' y and unquestioningly obeyed. So says the 
oath ; and by " oaths," as we are told by the 
gentleman from Orange, which "live hereafter, 
and are recorded in heaven." Error is harmless 
where reason is left free to combat it ; and where 
usurpations have to pass through the ordeal of 
untrammeled discussion, no great harm can result 
from them. But in this order, no usurpations, 
however monstrous — no edict, however inconsis- 
tent with the principles of republicanism — can be 
either counteracted or gainsayed. Submission 
or expulsion — subserviency or disgrace — a cheer- 



54 



ful. " All hail '" to the grand high priest of 
American Jesuitism, or the fearful brand of 'per- 
jurer" and " traitor!" These are the alternatives. 
And yet this is called. " Americanism !" Outupou 
such a desecration of a sacred name ! 

This order, Mr. Speaker, professes to have 
been organized to oppose Catholicism, and yet it 
proscribes and ostracises Protestauts, if born 
abroad. If foreign born, no matter how stern 
one may be in his protestantism, he is under the 
ban of this party. It professes, also, to make 
war only upon foreigners, and yet it proscribes 
native born men, if Catholics. Thus, its pro- 
scriptive spirit has a double action. It sets it- 
self up as-the defender of protestantism, and yet 
it makes war upon Protestants, unless native 
born ; and it assumes to embrace all of Ameri- 
can birth as the only men to be trusted, and yet 
excludes from its fellowship eveu native born 
Americans, if of the Catholic faith ! 

Now, I undertake to say Mr. Speaker, that 
although this order was constituted professedly to 
counteract the dangerous power of Catholicism, 
its organization ancT discipline it exercises a more 
despotic power over the minds and consciences 
of men than Catholicism itself. It embodies in 
its organization the most odious features of po- 
pery, with others still more odious superadded; 
and this power, like that possessed and. exer- 
cised by the papal church, is used to promote its 
own- peculiar purposes. If he who goes contra- 
ry to the canons of the church suffers excommu- 
nication, he who does not in all things submit 
his " will " to the behests of the grand council 
and its president is not only excommunicated, 
but is branded and posted far and near as a trai- | 
tor and a perjurer ! This array of "American- j 
ism" against Catholicism is but setting up one 
despotism to war against another — organizing 
a system of American Jesuitism to combat a 
Jesuitism of a foreign growth. In saying this, 
however, and in ajl that I have said of this organ- 
ization, I deny and disclaim all intention to 
charge corrupt or dishonest motives upon any 
member of this House. All that I have feared 
from its operations upon this floor was, that mem- 
bers, under the excitement of the moment, and 
the outside pressure brought to bear upon tnem, 
might be governed by expediency and not by 
their judgment ; but I trusted to the manliness 
and independence of honorable men, and I find 
I am not likely to be disappointed. It will re- 
main recorded upon the pages of history, I trust, 
that this legislature, under the most trying cir- r 
cumstances, dared to assert its rights, and, in de- 
fiance of threats and menaces, to act indepen- 
dently ; neither do I assert that the rank and file 
of the order have been guilty of auy mean act ; 
I know men of principle in my own county — 
virtuous, high-minded and honorable men — who 
were variously drawn into this association. They 
were made the victims of misrepresentation. 
They believed the assurance, proffered at the 
threshhold, that there was nothing to be imposed 
upon them in conflict with their duty to them- 
selves, their families, their country and their 
God; and under these solemn assurances they took 
the obligation. But those who under this assur- 
ance — false as the Koran — -took an oath which 
does conflict with their duty to themselves, their 
families, their country and their God, are dis- 
charged at once from any obligation to obey that 
oath. This is a well settled principle of law, act- 
ed upon every day. A deed executed under 



false pretences is hot a valid deed. A man who 
obtaius property underlike pretences must, when 
detected, make restitution, It i3 a principle re- 
cognized iu all the relations of life. An oath, 
taken under circumstances like those I have sup- 
posed, is not only not binding, but it is the re- 
ligious duty of those who assume it to disregard 
it and to expose the imposture. The principle, 
if admitted, that an oath, no matter how taken 
nor under what circumstances administered, was 
binding, would lead to the most dangerous con- 
sequences. 

Why, sir, what was the condition of our rev- 
olutionary fathers ? Many of them had held of- 
fice under the crown of Great Britain. Wash- 
ington himself had, more than once, sworn al- 
legiance to the king ; and yet they took up arms 
against the government and authoritiy of the 
country and king to which they had thus sworn 
allegiance. But who dares accuse those noble 
men with having committed perjury ? They 
were justified by their consciences and the 
world. Circumstances absolved them from all 
their obligation to the king against whose au- 
thority they rebelled. And so, sir, if any of the 
130,000, claimed to be in fellowship with this se- 
cret order, were led, by false pretences, to take 
the oath, this fact absolves them from obedience 
to it. If his conscience tells him that the oath 
does interfere with his duty to himself, to his 
family, to his country or to his God, it is his duty, 
as an accountable being, to disregard it. The 
gentleman from Orange may characterize such 
an act as suits him — he may brand it as perjury 
and treason, or whatever else he may please — 
but he himself acts upon this principle every day 
of his life, aud so have all men, from time imme- 
morial to the present hour. 

Bnt, sir, this society professes to be Yery phi- 
lanthropic — to have been organized to accom- 
plish a great moral and political reform — to cor- 
rect gross and glaring evils — to adjust great 
wrongs and to counteract bad and pernicious in- 
fluences, and to develope true Americanism. It 
comes to us as a mysterious power, pledged to 
effect all these glorious ends, effectually and 
speedily. But does it not hold the word of pro- 
mise to the ear while it breaks it to the hope ? 
It possibly may aim to counteract evils growing 
out of Catholic and foreign influences ; but here 
ends its high-sounding boast of philanthropy. 
But it says nothing of slavery-r-one of the great- 
est scourges of earth, and one of the most naked 
violations of the principles of democracy. It 
says nothing of this evil ! Oh ! no. Slavery is 
too delicate a subject to touch upon. It exists 
in the midst and surrounds the republic. It en- 
joys two-thirds of the patronage and holds two- 
thirds of the offices of the country ; it is making 
constant encroachments upon the free territory 
of the Union ; it is pushing, pushing, pushing un- 
ceasingly, and its foul footprints are sinking 
deeper and deeper into the soil of freedom; and 
yet these philanthropic advocates of American- 
Ism have no word of protest to utter! Nay, 
they approve of these encroachments — they 
make slavery a part of their Americanism — they 
adopt the Baltimore platform as the basis of 
their action — and stand out as the concentrated 
essence of pro-slaveryism ! This is the position 
of this order upon this great question ; and for 
having assumed it, they are thus complimented 
by the Journal of Commerce: 



55 



" And here we wish to say a word in justice to the Know 
Nothings of this state,— and the rather, because in some 
other 9iates the order have shown themselves to be closely* 
allied with the abolitionists. In addition to the evidence 
above afforded, the Know Nothing candidate tor Governor 
of this slate, at the last November election, was Mr.Ullmann, 
who in 1852 was supported by the Castle Garden Union 
Bafetv Committee tor Ihe offlje of Attorney-General. But 
the strongest tact we have to mention is. that the only 
three members of Congress elected in thisstate specially by 
the Know Nothings are believed to be all in favor of the 
Nebraska bill, or, at any rate, oppo-ed to its repeal. They 
are Mr. Valk. of Queens county, Mr. Williams, of Monroe 
countv, and Mr. Edwards, of the Cnautauque district. The 
last is stated, by a paper published in his district, to be a 
Jfebra-nka Whig." 

This is iutended, at once, as a compliment to 
the Know Nothings and to their " Union saving" 
candidate tor governor. The Journal of Com- 
merce is a pro-slavery paper, and it only compli- 
ments those who are ready to do slavery service. 
It is the intention of those who control this or- 
ganization to render it subservient to slavery. 
It is already a slavery organization ; and notwith- 
standing that institution disregards the domestic 
relations — reduces men to the low level of chat- 
tels — discards every principle of justice and 
humanity— defies God and oppresses his crea- 
tures — notwithstanding that it is a scourge and a 
blight, which its advocates are seeking to carry 
into territory forever dedicated to freedom — this 
organization, with all its vaunted championship 
of human rights, does not so much as raise its 
voice against ft. This fact shows that it has ulte- 
rior designs. And what are they ? I do not state 
what I am about to say of all; but I do say, with- 
out the fear of contradiction, that the leaders of 
this order are a band of threadbare, bankrupt 
and corrupt politicians — men equally destitute of 
character, principle and bread — who, failing to 
obtain position and place in the open field of fair 
competition, have had recourse to this secret as- 
sociation to bolster up their broken-down fortunes. 
Can the free men of New-York be duped into 
the service of such a miserable band of discarded 
camp-followers by false pretences ? Will they 
suffer the noble feeliug of patriotism to be 
prostituted to such base uses ? 

Sir, I have no word to say against America or 
the holy feeling of love of country. I, sir, claim 
to be an American. I trace my ancestry through 
seven generations of Americans, aud I am, as 
much as any man, attached to American insti- 
tutions, American laws aud American men. But 
I have no fellowship or sympathy with, no friend- 
ship or respectfor, men who will seize upon these 
holy feelings to advance their own interests and 
to destroy the fundamental principles of American 
democracy. 

But this love of slavery, while professing at- 
tachment to liberty and justice, is not the only 
inconsistency of which this party has been guilty. 
While it professes to oppose the election of for- 
eign citizens, it nominates as its candidate for the 
highest office in the gift of the people of this state. 
a man of Hindoo origiu, and then excommunicates 
all who will not vote for him ! I kuow that the 
baptismal record has been adduced to prove his 
nativity. But if that proves anything it proves 
simply this, that he, or his friends for him, 
changed his religion from pagan to Christian. I 
-was acquainted, sir, with a highly respectable 
gentleman residing in Ogdensburgh, who said to 
me that he was consulted professionally by Mrs. 
Ullmann in regard to the right of her infant suns, 
Daniel included, to take and hold real estate un- 
der our state laws, they having been born abroad. 



And yet, sir, this foreign born " son of the soil 7 ' 
was the Native candidate of this exclusive order ! 
and was by them nominated in opposition to 
Mvron H. Clark, a native born American, and 
as true a man as ever trod the soil of our state. 
And in order to punish all who did not think 
proper to vote for Daniel Ullmann, the Hindoo, 
but preferred Mr. Clark, the American, the edict 
has been sent out from the grand council to expel 
them from their several local councils. Is not 
this a glaring inconsistency ? And should it not 
open the eyes of all true Americans to the iniqui- 
ty as well as the inconsistent character of this 
organization? 

But these vaunted champions of American 
rights are guilty of another and still grosser in- 
consistency. They are opposed, they say, to the 
doctrine of a "higher law;" and one of the 
most unpardonable sins urged against Mr. Sew- 
ard is that he admits the binding force of such 
a law, although he expressly declares that such 
a doctrine is not at all in coutravention with the 
constitution and the constitutional laws of this 
country. Yes, sir, Mr. Seward's greatest sin, 
in the opinion of these gentlemen, is that he ad- 
mits the supremacy of that Great Being who rules 
in heaven and over the armies of earth — before 
whom all the nations of the earth are but as 
grasshoppers, and the work of whose hands we 
are. But, sir, does not every man say that there 
is a law above all human law ? And is it not the 
chief glory of our institutions that they are based 
upon and are in harmony with this higher law ? 
It is this harmony between the two that renders 
obedience to the laws of this countrythe pleasure 
as well as the duty of all good men. But, sir, the 
assertion of this doctrine was the one great and 
unpardonable sin of Mr. Seward. It is the 
black spot upon his otherwise unstained garments, 
and should condemn him to perpetual banishment 
from the Senate of the United States ! 

But what do these men say upon the subject 
of obedience to law ? They set up a law higtier 
than the laws of either God or man. This law 
is enacted at midnight — in dark cellars or gar- 
rets, by irresponsible cliques of unprincipled 
men — a law, that the illegal oaths there adminis- 
tered and assumed shall take precedence of all 
legal obligations — that the edicts of the grand 
counci) of the order shall be supreme, and that 
disobedience of those edicts shall subject the 
unfortunate culprit to all the pains and penalties 
and infamy of perjury ! This is their higher 
law ! They consider the higher law doctrine 
of Gov. Seward — which is the simple and just 
recognition of the supremacy of Almighty God — 
as treason to the constitution. But this higher 
law — which has its origin with the worst spe- 
cimens of frail humanity, and which was enacted 
to elevate themselves to positions which they had 
the wisdom to discover they could only attain 
through the agency of deception and fraud — this 
higher law, these men tell us, is the only higher 
law worthy the support and confidence of true 
Americans ! This contrast illustrates the consis- 
tency of these sensitive adherents to the ?' lower 
law" doctrines of the day ! 

A few years ago a terrific excitement arose in 
various parts of the state, which ultimately as- 
sumed a political aspect. This agitation was felt 
to the remotest hamlet of the state. And what 
was its cause ? It was believed that the institu- 
tion of Freemasonry was dangerous to the liber* 
ties of the country, and to the lives of its refrac- 



/ 



56 



Cory members. Indeed, many supposed that one 
of the members of the order had been murdered 
for revealing its secrets And yet, sir, what is 
there in the principles, of that society — even ad- 
mitting the truth of all that was alleged against 
it — what is there in its objects or in its organiza- 
tion to be compared, in atrocity aod danger, to 
the machinery and purposes and power of this 
so-called American organization 1 It is feeble, 
comparatively, in numbers and power. It was 
instituted, and is kept up, to establish a brother- 
hood of men, for the promotion of social and bene- 
volent purposes. Its objects are kno wn, and th^e 
objects appeal to our hearts and syinpathi". 
But if, notwithstanding this, it became so obnox- 
ious as to arouse a tornado of indignation, what 
must be the verdict of the people when they come 
to discover the objects and bearing and character 
of this association ? I predict thai so soon as the 
American people shall become acquainted with 
its objects and aims, they will utterly aud indig 
liautly discard it; and its members, ashamed of 
having been connected with it, will turn their 
backs upon it as unworthy of their countenance 
aud confidence. Many, I am glad to know, are 
already rebelling; and why? Because t4iey see 
that it is being used not merely to promote the 
personal aspirations of base men, but to fasten 
still firmer the bonds of slavery. 

When this association was first formed, it had 
laudable purposes in view. It was calculated to 
do good. All know that foreigners have too long 
been permitted to exert an unwarrantable control 
over the politics of the country. They were too 
soon permitted to become citizens, and dema- 
gogues found it too often for their interest to 
pander to their vices. It had become an evil 
almost intolerable ; and this society was organiz- 
ed to counteract the pernicious influence exerted 
by this class of voters. But it soon fell into the 
hands of dishonest men, who changed it from its 
original purpose into an engine to promote their 
own personal ends. When this fact comes to be 
known, this organization will be universally re- 
pudiated. 

That this organization has been diverted from 
its original purpose, and that it now has no prac- 
tically useful object in view, is abundantly pro- 
ven by the course of those who shawdow forth 
the wishes of the grand council upon this floor. 
If it be otherwise, where is the evidence ? Has 
any bill, looking to the accomplishment of any 
practical reform, been presented ? Why is this ? 
I have looked in vain for what I desired to see ; 
and I now say to these self-styled lovers of 
America, present me a bill to prevent the impro- 
per interference of foreigners with the ballot, 
and it shall receive my hearty and cheerful sup- 
port. But, instead of anything of this kind, we 
are asked to crush out native born Americans ! 
Why, when William H. Seward is named, is 
there such bitterness exhibited toward him ? 
Is there another American in this broad Union 
more truly American, in all his principles 
aud sympathies, than Mr. Seward ? Why, then, 
is he opposed? Not because that opposition is 
necessary to secure the promotion of American 
principles, but because he is too much of an 
American — too true to the holy principles of 
American freedom, to approve the infernal sys- 
tem of slavery aud involuntary servitude. These 
schemes of the unprincipled leaders of this order 
can only, it is supposed, be permitted by co- 
operating with and becoming the allies of sla- 



very. This is the secret of their opposition to 
William H.Seward; hence their ravings, when 
they find themselves likely to be foiled in their 
war upon that great man— when they find that 
the trail which they so skilfully laid to accom- 
plish his political death, bids fair to annihilate 
themselves. Thus far they have, in every move- 
ment, been, like the unskilful engineer, " hoist by 
his own petard." We had a specimen on this 
floor the other day, when it was, in their own 
over-sanguine minds, arranged that the gentle- 
man from New-York (Mr. Leigh) should open 
the war upon Mr. Seward. The commissioned 
delegates, sent here in order to overawe the 
members, were gathered in dense groups to 
feast upon Mr. Seward's mangled corpse. They 
were all expectant to see the dissecting knife do 
its work ; when, lo! a feast of unexpected viands 
was prepared ! The gentleman became the elo- 
quent defender, not the malignant assailant of 
our senator ; and I enjoyed the mingled exhibi- 
tions of rage and disappointment which appeared 
around me. The hired and feed agents of the 
grand council retired disgusted with them- 
selves for having been fools enough to believe 
that a gentleman of the talents, character and 
principles of my friend from New-York would 
become the traducer of our excellent senator. 
The presence of these committee men, in such 
droves, was proof enough that they looked for 
a very different speech from that which was de- 
livered; but they were then no more disappoint- 
ed than they will be to-day. They then sup- 
posed that a train would be touched which would 
drive Mr. Seward from the field. They still 
hope for his defeat ; but they will very soon be 
taught that there are enough true Americans in 
this legislature to retain the services of so true 
a man in the Senate of the United States. 

If any further evidence were necessary to 
show that the organization is a cheat and a fraud, 
which seeks, by appeals to the sympathies and. 
prejudices of the native born, to render them 
subservient to their secret designs, it can be 
found in the startling exposures which have been 
made by those who have preceded me in this 
discussion. Enough will there be found to con- 
vince any reasonable man that this order is in- 
consistent with and dangerous to our republican 
institutions. The American people will assert 
their rights when they know they are assail- 
ed ; .and the independent members of the 
order vv"i 11 assert their rights to act independently 
aud to vote according to the dictates of then own 
consciences and judgments, when they learn that 
there are men who assume to hold them as the 
oath-bound slaves of the order. And then will 
come the day of tribulation to those self-consti- 
tuted high piiests and rulers of a free people. 
But, from present appearances, like the evil 
spirits of old, they are likely to be punished 
before their time ; and, what must add to theu 
mortification, their overthrow will have been 
hastened by their fiend-like efforts to overthrow 
a man as impregnable to their assaults as he is 
impervious to their malignity. Like certain 
Jews who took an oath to neither eat nor drink 
until they had killed Paul, these Hindoos are 
likely to fail in their efforts to reach William H. 
Seward. 

In what I have said, Mr. Speaker, I do not pre- 
tend to. say that the American sentiment, which 
has made such progress in various pans of the 
country, is going to speedily die out. But I do say 



57 



that what has been transpiring here for a week 
past,and what has been gradually developing itself 
elsewhere for mouths, will awaken a suspicion 
of the integrity of the order, which will lead to 
an inquiry that will only terminate with the 
rule of the corrupt men who are prostituting the 
.American sentiment to advance their own ends. 
When this is accomplished, there will arise a 
pure and just American sentiment — a sentiment 
which pervades all classes and conditions of men 
—a seutimeut which I entertain, and which all 
must, to a greater or less extent, entertain. This 
sentiment will manifest itself effectively ; but not 
in the form of u grand councils" ani " grand 
presidents," and the deputies and creatures of 
those councils, who have prostituted the order, 
and who are seeking by ihreats and intimidations 
to overawe the representatives of the people upon 
this floor. It is in vain for gentlemen to deny 
this. The evidence is before us. Members have 
been threatened with even personal violence. 
Their oaths have been shaken before their eyes for 
the purpose of dragooning them to vote in a partic- 
ular way ; and in the case of one gentleman 
(Mr. Rickerson, of Greene), the threat that he 
would be burned in effigy has been already car- 
ried out. (Clapping of hands in one or two di- 
rections.) 

The SPEAKER: If there should be any simi- 
lar disgraceful exhibition, I shall order the galle- 
ries cleared. 

Mr. FTTCH : It is to be regretted, sir, that any 
person within this chamber should share in the 
malignant spirit which induced the disgraceful 
act to which I have referred. It is a humiliating 
exhibition — derogatory to the American character 
and unworthy the age and country. And that 
this secret order fosters such a spirit is the 
strongest argument which could be adduced that 
it is unworthy to wear the honored name which 
it has assumed but which it disgraces. Let but 
the people learn the malignant character of this 
order, and it will soon reach a dishonored grave. 

The bankrupt politicians who control this or- 
der expected to rule here as they rule in their 
midnight councils. But they find themselves 
disappointed, and already their power is passing 
away. Men are awakening, on all hands, to a 
consciousness that an order so despotic, unre- 
lenting and proscriptive, is not adapted to this 
country nor to this age. When it is known that 
members of the order are to be expelled and 
brauded as perjurers and traitors simply because 
they voted for Myron H. Clark instead of Dan- 
iel Ullmann, every trueAmerican connected with 
it will break loose from it, and all men who have 
any respect for their personal and political rights 
will keep aloof from it. Like the fathers of the 
revolution, they will declare an eternal war 
against a tyranny so intolerable and insolent. 
This is already being done. The following has 
been handed to me as an authentic document, 
which I desire to read . 

[Here followed points of order, calls for the 
ayes and noes, &c, &c, which consumed half an 
hour, when the subjoined documents were read.] 

" At a Convention of Council of the city of Brooklyn and 
county of Kings, held on Wednesday P. M.. Dec. 27th, at 
the room of Council No. 25, pursuant to call from them for 
the purpose of taking into consideration the recent high- 
handed measures of the Grand Council of the State of New- 
York, Brother in the chair; it was 

''Resolved, That the various Councils of Kings county be 
recommended to adopt the following resolution, viz : 

"Resolved., That if the test resolutions, passed by the 
Grand Council of this state at their November session, are 

8 



not rescinded at their next January session, that the Coun- 
cils of this city will agree to unite with one another to carry 
out the principles of this order independently. 
Yours, 

C J. 8HEPARD, Sec'y." 

"Dmolution-of Council 83. 

" Whereas, certain leading and fundamental principles, 
forming the basis of our system of government and ull our 
rights under it, have long been cherished and revered by 
all true Americans— among which are, that all men are 
created with certain natural and inalienable rights to their 
own lile, to their own liberty, and the lawful pursuit of 
their own happiness, and that, to secure and preserve these 
rights, governments should be instituted, deriving all their 
just powers from the consent of the governed. 

"That, whenever any form of government does not sub- 
serve these great ends, it is the right of the people to alter, 
abolish or reconstruct it. And whereas, a secret order has 
been formed for the avowed purpose of carrying out and 
perpetuating these and other American principles. And 
whereas, the subordinate councils of ihis order have had a 
representative head, styled 'the Grand Council of the State 
of New- York.' And whereas, the said Grand Council 
have, in violation o<" long settled and deeply cherished 
American principles, assumed arbitrary and unauthorized 
powers; have, by wanton and tyrannical acts, attempted to 
deprive members of this order of their just rights ; and with- 
out a fair trial, have, in violation of the laws or this state, 
attempted to coerce the votes of freemen ; have invaded the 
sacred rights of the ballot box, and attempted to rifle its 
contents; have violated the Constitution ot the U. States, 
in article 5th of its amendment, by attempting to compel 
persons to be witnesses against themselves, have, in 
fine, by their repeated acts of usurpation and lawless ag- 
gression, forfeited every claim to the respect and confidence 
of all true Americans, and only deserve the fate of their 
great prototype, 4 Benedict Arnold,' who also deserted his 
American principles. 

" Therefore be it resolved, by Council 33, in Council as- 
sembled, that we declare ourselves absolved from all alle- 
giance to and from all connection with the so called 
' Grand Council of the State of New- York.' 

"Resolved, That the foregoing preamble and resolution be 
printed, and copies sent to the various Councils in tlm 

"Dated, Council 33, Dec. 14, 1854." 

Mr. Speaker (continued Mr. F.), these resolu- 
tions show that there is a spirit of independence 
abroad among the masses of this association ; that 
there are among them intelligent men, who see the 
fraud which has been practiced upon them, and 
who have discovered that the only way in which 
i hey can escape the tyranny and oppression of its 
leaders is to renounce their allegiance to it. In clos- 
ing (for the near approach of the hour admonishes 
me), I would ask who is the candidate of the coali- 
tion? Are they willing to announce his name, or is 
that to remain a secret until their votes are cast ? 
Have they agreed upon any one, or are they re- 
quired to wait until the candidate is selected by 
the grand council, and then go in mass, accord- 
ing to its dictation, whether they approve the 
man or not ? In either case, why not bring out 
their candidate, that we may see him and judge 
of his qualities and fitness for the high position 
which they wish him to fill ? Perhaps he may 
be a Free Soiler, opposed to the spread and ex- 
tension of slavery. What would the gentleman 
from Genesee (Mr. Stevens) and his political as- 
sociates say of such a man — could they yield him 
a hearty support ? But the real object seems, 
from appearances, to be to elect no senator at this 
session, and thus increase the chances of Da»iel 
S. Dickinson in the next legislature. What do 
the geutlemen from St. Lawrence think of this 
arrangement ? Are they prepared to embark in 
such a scheme ? I know the people of that coun- 
ty, for I have lived among them, and I know that 
they are true friends of human freedom, and are 
imbued with a deadly hostility to slavery and its 
further extension. They will not, they cannot, 
sanction any scheme devised for the purpose ot 
returning to the senate a man who occupies a 



58 



doubtful position upon the subject of slavery. 

We are not afraid nor ashamed to show our 
colors. We present a candidate whose opinions 
are well known; whose acts are recorded in his- 
tory ; a man who, by his virtue, his perseverance 
and his genius, has worked his way from obscu- 
rity to the high position which he now occupies, 
and has enthroned himself in the hearts of the 
people ; a man who hates wrong and oppression 
with a deadly hatred, and loves freedom and. its 
cause with an attachment as strong as his love 
of life; a man of liberal and comprehensive 
views, and an American in the true and full sense 
of the term. Is not such a man worthy to be the 
representative of the Empire State? 

The rigor of the assault now made upon him 
by his foes — the malignity which they exhibit 
and the desperate means to which they resort — 
show that they very well know the deep root 
which he has taken in the hearts of the people, 
and that nothing short of a perfect tornado can 
uproot him. This they have sought by every 



means in their power to evoke, but in vain. The 
history of this day's proceeding will, I trust, show 
that as in the physical so in the political world, 
the fierce and bitter winds of winter may rage 
and howl among the branches of the loftiest oak 
of the forest, but when the winds subside and 
the winter is past, the oak will still stand and will 
spread forth its branches and put forth its leaves 
in the glittering sunlight and in the summer 
breeze. Storms may gather and lightnings flash 
and thunder roar around the base of the loftiest 
mountain ; but the storm asserts its power but for 
an hour, and when it is past the mountain still 
stands and rears its majestic top in all the gran- 
deur and sublimity of its native greatness. But, 
Mr. Speaker, the time for discussion has past and 
the time for action has arrived, and before the 
lapse of another half hour it will, I trust, be re- 
corded that we have again elected to the United 
States Senate the man whom the people delight 
to honor. 



RECEPTION OF A MEMBER OF THE LEGISLATURE 

IN THE 

HINDOO COUNCIL AT SYRACUSE. 



Albany, February 14, 1855. 

Dear Sir : Yours of the 8th inst., containing a certificate of my election as a delegate 
to the state grand council of the so-called K. N. order from my council, No. 274, held 
in Rutland, Jefferson county, was received. In my reply you will see how your delegate 
was received by the grand council of the state, now in session in the city of Syracuse. 

I presented my credentials at the place of meeting, and was introduced to a number 

of the order by the district deputy, Mr. ; I was then escorted to the desk of the 

grand secretary, paid the quarterly dues of my council you entrusted me with, namely, 
two cents for each member of our council. After this ceremony, I was conducted to the 
main hall, where all the delegates soon assembled, being about 200 in number. The 
presiding officer, Mr. Barker, of New- York, said : " Before proceeding to business, I 
would ask if there was any opportunity of there being any listeners ?" Being assured 
on that point, the first business was to examine each person in the hall for the purpose 
of ascertaining whether they had taken the third degree. Those who had not received 
it were taken into an ante-room, questioned, and instructed further in the mysteries of 
the order, as the business to be transacted could not, with safety, be done in the presence 
of any who had not taken the necessary oaths of a third degree member. 

Before proceeding further, they inquired of each member for whom they had voted at 
the last state election. All those who had not voted the Ullmann ticket (and there were 
about eight who had not done so), according to the instructions of the grand council last 
fall, were required to acknowledge they had committed an offence against the order, and 
ask to be forgiven, and promise in all things in future to obey their superiors. Upon so 
doing, a vote was taken and the repenting members were reinstated. 

I, being a member of the legislature, was invited upon the platform with the officers of 
the meeting, and introduced by Mr. Barker, who informed the grand council that I would 
make explanations in relation to my vote cast at the last election. Whilst I was pro- 
ceeding to do so, one of the members asked me for whom I voted for United States Sena- 
tor. "When I replied William H. Seward, it created a great excitement in all parts of 
the hall. Some twenty or thirty, more vehement than the rest, rushed forward to the 
platform, hissing, stamping their feet, gnashing their teeth, extending -their arms with 
clenched fists, crying out, with countenances flushed with excitement, " Traitor !" " Perju- 
rer !" " Liar !" " Villain !" and other epithets, accompanied with the exclamations, " Hustle 
him out !" " Down stairs with him !" " Throw him out of the window !" <fcc, &a 



62 

By this time the meeting was in a complete uproar. The presiding officer could not 
control those present, and declared the meeting adjourned for one hour. There was then 
a general rush for the platform where I was standing. Some of the foremost seized my 
collar, but by the exertion of a few personal friends, I was saved from further violence, 
by being, with great haste, escorted down a private stair-way, whilst others closed the 
doors and kept back the mob. When I reached the street, Mr. Barker advised me to go 
to my hotel and not to show myself about the place, but leave the city in the first con- 
veyance. Having no other business to attend to, I took his advice and left Syracuse in 
the first train. 

I know not what you and the council may think of this ; but if you ever desire to send 
a delegate to such a pandemonium, you must select some other person besides your sin- 
cere friend and fellow townsman, 

MOSES EAMES. 

To the W. P. of Council 274. . 



THE LIFE OF WM. H. SEWARD. 



THE UNDERSIGNED HAS IN PRESS, AND WILL SHORTLY PUBLISH, 

THE LIFE OF WM. H. SEWARD, WITH SELECTIONS FROM HIS WORKS, 

In one Handsome Duodecimo Volume of Four Hundred Pages. 

A glance at the table of contents will show that the book will be one of great interest. 
The biography is full and impartial, and the selections embrace many gems of eloquence 
as well as the most authentic record of Mr. Seward's opinions and sentiments upon all 
the great subjects which he has discussed. In order to place the book within reach of 
all classes of readers, the price has been fixed at one dollar. The publisher feels that he 
may confidently anticipate a wide dissemination of a work which will serve to silence 
misrepresentation, and place in a true light the character and principles of the 

LEADING STATESMAN OF THE COUNTRY. 

Retail price, $1. A liberal discount made to those who buy to sell again. 

J. S. REDFIELD, Nos. 110 and 112 

Nassau si, New- York. 

For sale as above : 

WORKS OF WM. H. SEWARD. 8 vols. 8vo. $7.50. 

THE NEBRASKA PAMPHLET. Paper. 25 cts. c 

SPEECH OF WM.H. SEWARD, ON THE NEBRASKA QUESTION. Paper. 12J 
A liberal discount to the trade. 



LSAp '12 



